The Wolf's Company
by The-Manga-Goddess
Summary: A murder has been committed in Fabletown and Sheriff Bigby Wolf must track down the killer before he strikes again all the while dealing with his conflicted feelings for Snow White and Red Riding Hood. The key to the mystery may lie in who keeps the wolf company. Novelization of 'The Wolf Among Us' with some new characters, minor plot changes, and twists. Crime/Dark Fantasy/Romance
1. Prologue: Nightmare

So I've heard about the Fable series but never really got into it; and after watching the walkthroughs of The Wolf Among Us on YouTube and then buying the game, I just fell in love with the series (particularly with Bigby Wolf).

I recreated my version of Red Riding Hood because she had no interaction with Bigby and didn't even realized that he was the Big Bad Wolf; so now my version, she and Bigby have sort of an awkward relationship and she's a budding love interest. I honestly don't understand the attraction between him and Snow White but I haven't read the comics so I don't know.

I'm going to do my best to keep the story in canon with the game and the comic series. Most of the dialogue will be based on the choices I made in the game but I will make some changes.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Fables and Bigby Wolf – they rightfully belong to Bill Willingham – and I do not own 'The Wolf Among Us' game – that belongs to Telltale Games. I only own my version of Red Riding Hood (and other OC characters) and the image cover.

Reviews and constructive criticisms are welcomed, flames are not, so enjoy the prologue and happy Cinco de Mayo!

* * *

_It was a bright and peaceful day in the Black Forest, the birds were chirping and woodland creatures were chattering and happily scattering, completely unaware of the danger yet to come…_

_His golden eyes scanned the sappy scene until they landed on a singing figure: an auburn-haired girl of twelve wearing a simple light blue dress, a red-hooded cloak, and carrying a basket._

_She was his chosen prey; the girl called Little Red Riding Hood…_

_He didn't know her real name for the villagers always called her 'Red' because of the red-hooded cloak she regularly wore, but that didn't matter to him. He was looking to hunt down humans and this girl's virginal and innocent scent was intoxicating to his senses which made her perfect for his first prey. _

_He couldn't wait to taste her untainted flesh…_

_He had stalked her for a few days and knew that she took this path to her grandmother's cottage, which was very deep in the Black Forest and several miles away from the village. It was the perfect place to corner her: she wouldn't be able to escape and couldn't fight him off, and nobody would be able to hear her screams…_

_He emerged from the bushes once she got closer and then her singing ceased, _

"_Good day Miss Red Riding Hood," he said charmingly_ _as he stood in front of her path._

"_Good day Mr. Wolf." She replied pleasantly to him. He was quite an imposing wolf for he had fur that was black as the night, golden predatory eyes, and was a good foot taller than her. He knew that humans would be wary of him because of his appearance, but this girl's naiveté allowed her to not fear him. _

_He couldn't help finding Red Riding Hood's kindness 'delicious' and if he didn't plan on eating her, he would've enjoyed her company. _

"_Where are you off to so early, Miss Red Riding Hood?" He knew where she was going but asked to avoid suspicion._

"_To my grandmother's," she answered, "she hasn't been feeling very well so I'm bringing her beef stew and cake that I made and some wine." She lifted the basket's lid and cloth to show him the contents, _

"_Her cottage is about a half an hour away from the village and stands under three large oak trees and some nut-trees. You must know it right, Mr. Wolf?" She asked honestly. _

"_Aren't you a sweet one," he chuckled, "I should walk along side you, you never know who's lurking in these woods." He circled the girl in a predatory way and she curiously watched him with her large green eyes…_

_And then the scene changed to a bloodied bedroom: He was devouring Red Riding Hood's flesh on her grandmother's bed and her severed head watched him with blood-stained tears…_

* * *

Bigby was instantly awakened from his slumber, his body drenched in sweat, his heart racing, and panted heavily as if he was running a marathon.

"Shit…" He cursed as he ran his large, callous hand over his face and five o'clock shadow, by now his breathing was calmer. His brown eyes, still weary of sleep, squinted at the sun's morning brightness.

_Just fucking great…_ He mentally groaned as he peeled himself off of his chair. After stretching the kinks out of his body, he made his way to the kitchen sink. Once he rinsed his face, he glanced at the clock on the wall and realized that it was around seven in the morning; he went to sleep after three and barely got four hours of sleep.

Nightmares were nothing new to him. Most of them were from the old days but they would come and go. Dreams of Red Riding hood were no exception except that in the last few nights, the way it ended on a very bloody and gruesome note and each ending was worse than the last.

And the image of her decapitated head really shook him up…

When he came back to the living room, he glanced at Red's portrait that hung above his chair. She was smiling sweetly in her light blue dress and traditional red-hooded cloak. He always found her smile comforting and was drawn to it.

"Never did apologize to you huh Red?" Bigby mumbled sadly as he scratched his cheek.

Maybe that's why he was having these nightmares because he's been carrying this guilt for centuries and has never said those two words to her. If he could, he would turn back the clock and stop himself from preying on her, but he can't undo what's been done.

What he can do was try to keep her safe. This might be a cheap-shot of redemption but he really did care about her. He knew she's been falling on hard times lately, but she's never complained. She's always been a proud person but he can see the toll it's taking on her and he wished that she would—

_Well fuck it,_ He scoffed, he didn't need to be brooding over this so early in the morning. He put on a 'clean' shirt and 'fixed' his tie as he left his apartment. He had a shitload of paper work to do and while he wasn't looking forward to it, it would keep his mind off of Red Riding Hood.

When he entered the Business Office, he was greeted by a scent of lilacs and a winter breeze, and a beautiful face that instantly washed his worries away.

"Good morning, Bigby." Snow White greeted pleasantly at him. She was dressed a light blue blouse with snowflake patterns, a khaki blazer, a blue pencil skirt, and blue high-heels. She also wore white circular-jeweled earrings, had on some lip-gloss over her 'red as blood' lips, and her raven black hair was pulled into a chignon. She was always so elegant and professionally dressed whereas he was always so gruff and not so professionally dressed. He had to admit (and really appreciate) that Snow can pull off looking so lovely this early in the morning.

Bigby never knew why he was attracted Snow but he knew that her scent reminded him of his… He pushed the thought back down.

"Morning, Snow." He replied back and welcomed this godsend of a distraction. Despite the shit he would get when dealing with Deputy Mayor Crane and the higher ups, Snow was probably the one perk of being the Sheriff.

And that was good enough for him.


	2. I: These Lips Are Sealed

I want to dedicate this story to LaNellyxD who's 'Wolf Among Us' fanfic inspired me to create my own version of Red Riding Hood, do check out her fics.

Other Bigby/OC stories worth mentioning are "The Honest Mermaid" by A-KT66, "Nature of the Beast" by MeyomiN, "The Fox and the Wolf" by Twisted-Web-Tales, and "A Writer's Fairy-tale" by AboveReality.

I really appreciate the views, and I want to say thank you to A-KT66 and drecklyn for the wonderful reviews. That just gave me the fire to keep going.

So here's Chapter 1, enjoy!

* * *

Bigby walked up the stairs and stood in front of the first door on his right. It was late and he was tired but Mr. Toad, the landlord of this building, had called him because the Woodsman was on a drunken rampage. A drunken Woodsman didn't worry him too much and he believed it was best to let nature take its course, but when he heard a female's voice, that's when he became concerned.

He knocked on the door but had no response. Same thing when he pounded on the door.

When he opened the door, he saw the burly Woodsman slap a woman very hard. He immediately grabbed Woody's green flannel shirt and pinned him to the wall. Even though Woody was a bit taller and broader than him, he was strong enough to hold him.

"You got something on your face…" The woman said to her abuser.

"Fuck are you talking about you stupid cu—" She spat blood on the bearded Fable's face, effectively cutting him off, and that reignited his rage but Bigby kept him in place.

"All right, what's—" The Woodsman cut him off by head-butted him. It was an unexpected but powerful blow that made Bigby release him.

"What're you gonna fuckin' do? Huh?" Woody threatened, "Get the fuck out of the way before you get the axe again."

He knew that Woody was quite the drinker and a very violent one when intoxicated. He immediately knew that this was going to be one of those nights…

"You're drunk, alright? Think this through." He firmly reasoned,

"If you keep on like this, I won't have any choice but to put you down." His comment was only meant to warn the Woodsman but that only did the opposite,

"Put **me **down," The bearded Fable said in disbelief, "You've got a shit fuckin' memory Wolf. That's not how it went last time."

"This isn't last time." He growled.

Woody then threw the first punch which he easily caught it and twisted it behind his back. Woody head-butted him again but he still held onto his wrists and then pushed him to the couch which tipped over.

"Had enough?" He was then knocked back by the couch and was hoisted up by Woody. He quickly punched his throat and was instantly released from his grasp. He and the Woodsman would throw each other to the bookcase, mattressless bed, or sink, and Woody would use a lamp and then a razor to gain the upper hand but he was able to disarm him.

He then saw the Woodsman grab his axe and quickly dodge the oncoming blow. He was able to wrestle it out of him and then used the end of it to deliver a powerful blow to his rival's jaw, temporarily incapacitating him.

When Woody wasn't getting back up, He tossed the axe to the side and turned to the woman, taking note of her appearance: she had messy, chin-length black hair, mascaraed green eyes, full pinkish lips that had a bloody cut, and fair skin that made her bruises stand out more. She wore a teal tube top, a ribbon on her neck, bracelets, a black mini skirt, and black stilettoes. Her manner of dress told him that she was a prostitute.

"You should probably get out of here."

"Look, I'm not leaving until I get what's mine." The streetwalker firmly stated.

"Yer nod geddig shid, bidch." The axe-wielder slurred threateningly, "Aisle fughed puhd yew in de ground, yew heeear mee?"

"Hey! If you can't be nice, I'm gonna make you wait outside." He firmly stated.

"Fuhged, shid…Yew bogue buy jaw, yew badturd…" The Woodsman groaned.

"And still you talk…" He said exasperatedly, kind of wishing he really **did** break his jaw to where the Woodsman couldn't talk. He then turned back to the female Fable.

"What the hell is going on? What happened?"

"A little misunderstanding that turned into a real shit show." She explained, "Don't worry, you saw all the best bits."

"Ders moar where dad cameb frumb, gurlie." Woody grumbled.

"Look, this is just the start of a shitty night for me. I just need the money he owes me, then I can go." She said irritatingly.

He knew that being slapped around like that would put anyone in a bad mood but he was trying to help her. This job required patience when dealing in these kinds of situations and sometimes patience wasn't his best strong suit.

"Why was he hitting you?" He asked and the woman looked confused and pondered a moment before she answered,

"Maybe you should ask him that."

"I will, but I asked you first." He saw her arms cross uncomfortably and she began,

"He asked me if I recognized him…knew who he was… I said I didn't. He started beating on me. Then you showed up, started beating on him." She then looked at the Woodsman, "That about cover it, Hon?"

"I'm Duh Woodsman, yooo hoaar… Aye saved liddle Reed Raiding Hood frum this munster… I cut dis fugger oben and filled hids belly full of—" He snapped his jaw back in place, "stones and threw him in the fucking river, and that makes me Red's knight in shining armor! That's who the fuck I am, you stupid bitch!"

That did it. He hated when that story was brought up but the idea of Woodsman and Red together was something he couldn't stomached. He imagined the gentle-natured Red trying to calm a drunken Woody but she would only take the brunt of his frustrations. She (or any woman) didn't deserve that kind of abuse and that made him really mad.

"Would you excuse me for a moment?" He turned to the black-haired prostitute.

"By all means."

And then the two crashed out of the second-story window…

* * *

_Fucking hell…_ His body painfully ached all over. He glanced up at the blinking streetlight above him and saw the Woodsman lying on the curb.

"Aww…Shit…" He groaned. Everything happened so fast: One minute he was fixing to apprehend Woody and then the next minute, he was tackled through the window and lying on top of a car.

He turned his head and saw a 3-foot bipedal and fully-clothed toad in distress,

"Hey Toad…" He groaned.

"My…Car…" Mr. Toad croaked.

"Yeah…Gimme a second…" He grunted.

"Oh no, by all means. Take your time. Make yourself comfortable." The amphibian remarked with mock tenderness, "Can I get you anything? A pillow perhaps?"

"Sorry about the car…" He apologized, "We ended up going out the window. Couldn't be avoided."

"I can't be mad at you, I called you and you come to help… I can't be mad," Toad sighed and then his tone turned angry,

"But even when you help, things end up more fucked than they started." He couldn't help but agree, it always seem to turn that way…

"Well, at least you're not fucking dead."

He leaned up and saw a furious Woodsman. He was pulled off the car, pinned to a glass display, and then choked. He tried to get Woody to let go but the grip just kept getting stronger and tighter. He heard Woody taunting for the Wolf to come out. He was losing air and on the verge of passing out. Then his eyes turned golden…

And then he was suddenly released. After catching his breath and pushing his inner wolf down, he saw that the Woodsman was lying on the ground with his axe wedged on his head and the prostitute standing over him; he quickly put two and two together. He watched her get down as she started searching his pockets,

"What are you doing?" He frustratingly asked. He was grateful for her help but that doesn't give her a reason to pilfer Woody's pockets, but he didn't stop her.

"I'm just getting what he owes me." He then smelt nervousness and fear coming off of her "You alright back there? I mean, you're eyes and the teeth…You're not really supposed to do that are you?"

"Not if I can avoid it."

After rifling through his pockets the woman only found some gold coins and scoffed as she threw the coins on the ground. Gold coins from the Homelands were useless here in the Mundy World.

"The guy's got an axe in his brain. He's not feeling that." He watched her take out her frustrations on the unconscious Fable.

"It's more for me. He'll be fine." Her kicking stirred up the bearded Fable who just moaned pathetically that he'll kill her.

"Let me help you with that." She pressed her stiletto foot on the axe, trying to drive it in deeper into his skull, but Bigby pulled her away.

"He's had enough." She had every right to take her anger out on the Woodsman for the shit she went through, but it was his job to keep the Fables from killing each other.

"He's a Fable, sonuvabitch can take plenty!" She huffed as she briskly walked back to her purse.

He looked at the Woodsman and knew that he couldn't leave this guy with an axe in his head right where the Mundies would see. When he finally got it off of him, he saw the nameless hooker walking away. He tossed the axe aside and followed her, figuring Woody will be out for a good while.

He saw that she was having trouble lighting her cigarette, so he lit it for her with his Zippo and she thanked him as she took a puff.

He then realized that he doesn't know her name, and he would've asked if Woody wasn't trying to beat the shit out of him.

"What's your name?"

"Whatever you'd like it to be, handsome." She smirked coyly. She used the old classic hooker line and he would've found it humorous if he wasn't tired and sore, so he just gave her a stern look,

"These lips are sealed…Sorry." She replied sadly. He had no idea what the hell that meant but he continued to ask,

"Who do you work for?"

He saw her expression become conflicted, and then her eyes softened as she gestured to her accessory,

"Hey, do you like my ribbon?"

He knew she was hiding something but he decided to play along. Instead of her ribbon, he looked at her eyes and noticed how green they were; a familiar green that fondly reminded him of Red.

"Beautiful…" The woman was a bit surprised at his response and stood there awkwardly. This woman felt familiar to him…

"I feel like we met before…"

"We probably have. We all sort of knew each other at one point or another… but things change I guess."

"I guess." He suddenly remembered the Woodsman. He walked back and saw the pool of blood but no Woody and the axe was gone.

"Shit." He cursed. Now he has to go track him down, why couldn't the drunk just stay down and make his job easier? But when was his job ever easy…

With a gruff, he was about to head in the direction of the Woodsman's scent but he felt a hand grab his arm,

"Stop. We don't have to make any more of a thing out of it than it already is."

"You sure?" He was surprised by her action.

"He's had enough." She shrugged, "For tonight at least. Wouldn't be surprised if he has an axe to grind though." He wasn't pleased with that comment and she realized that she said the wrong thing,

"That wasn't intentional… sorry."

He glanced down to her arm, which she realized that she still held onto his arm and immediately let go. She then turned away from him.

"How much did he own ya?"

"A hundred…"

"And I'm guessing it'd be bad for you to show up empty handed." She turned to him and smiled,

"I'll be fine." But her eyes told him she was uneasy.

He pulled some money from his pocket, it was slightly over half than what she needed.

"Here, it's all I got, it'll help right? Take it." He held the bills out.

She just glanced at the cash and protested,

"Just take the money, okay?" His tone was firm but polite.

She reluctantly took it and placed it in her bra as she thanked him.

"I'm still gonna need a statement."

"I… have to go drop off what I have." Her body language told him that she wasn't looking forward to it.

"Meet me back at my office then."

"It's a little late for an office visit Sheriff. I'll swing by your apartment." She smiled.

"How—"He tried to ask but she cut him off, "You live in the smallest apartments in The Woodlands. Everyone knows that."

_Great…_He thought annoyingly. He didn't mind his small living space but that didn't mean he wanted everyone to know... He then shifted his attention back to her when she started speaking again,

"Hey…" She started, "I need to tell you something."

"What is it?"

"You're not as bad as everyone says you are." She whispered and then lightly kissed him on the cheek. She pulled away from him and started walking away,

"I'll see you around…Wolf." She said without looking at him, and then she disappeared into the darkness.

He was stunned over what just happened, it wasn't the kiss that surprised him but it was the phrase she used. It sounded very similar to what Red had once said to him,

_People think you're big and bad but I know better: you're not as bad as everyone says you are Sheriff…_

Now he really had the urge to see her. All day he was dealing with paperwork and complaints so he couldn't drop by Red's workplace. Given the time of night, she's probably at her apartment, unless…

As he lit his cigarette, he noticed a fuming Toad was still outside,

"Hey Sheriff, what about my car?"

"It'll be taken care of." He replied nonchalantly but that didn't ease the amphibian up,

"What time is it?" He asked after he took a puff. With everything that went on, he completely lost track of time.

"It's after midnight." The frog said, "If you're worried about turning into a pumpkin, it's too late for that."

He ignored the frog's smart-ass remark as he made his way back to Upper Fabletown. Since he gave all of his money to the mysterious prostitute, he didn't have enough for a cab but if he hurried, he can still catch Red…

* * *

Whew… That was a lot longer than I expected… So that was the first part of the game with some tweaks and changes. I did change the time when Bigby arrives to the apartment before midnight so that I could put in the Cinderella joke at the end, I couldn't help myself. XD

I don't know the specific geography of Fabletown but based on the game, the community is extended from the Upper West Side to the South Bronx. The Upper West Side is where The Woodlands and main shops are and presumably the well-off Fables; the South Bronx is where all the seedy strip clubs and bars are at, so I assume that's where the Fables who are struggling live.

Stay tuned for Chapter 2.


	3. II: A Beautiful Friendship

Sorry about the long wait, it was challenging to write the scene with Bigby and Red. I had the scene planned out but it was like a puzzle; I had to find out which pieces fit and which did not.

I want to give credit to LaNellyxD's for letting me use a few of her elements from her story 'Little Trouble Red'.

Anyway, thank you for your patience and hope you enjoy the chapter.

* * *

Bigby stomped out his cigarette when he reached Bullfinch Street. Given the time, most of the stores would be closed and most people would be inside.

Right across from the Woodlands Building was his destination, Hood's Goodies. It was a small bakery/coffeehouse that's owned by Red's grandmother and quite popular to both Fables and Mundies, particularly Mundy cops.

Snow used to make trips to the bakery where she would pick up pastries for that prick Crane. To help her out, he would make the trips and (to his delight) she **greatly **appreciated that. Also, this gave him an excuse to talk with Red since he didn't care much for sweets; of course, her grandmother wasn't very thrilled of him coming into her store.

He glanced inside the bakery and saw nothing but darkness,

_Shit…_He mentally cursed. Believing he missed her, he was about to head to his apartment until something caught the corner of his eyes: A woman leaning against the streetlight. She had long and wavy, dark auburn hair pulled into a ponytail that fell over her shoulder, and wore red-triangular earrings, acid-wash jeans, and red laced, heeled boots. She also wore a bright red trench coat and carried a basket purse.

Her manner of dress might make some Mundies think she was a modern version of Red Riding Hood, which was funny to him because she **was** Red Riding Hood. She was never seen without her red coat and would wear it even on the hottest days.

He would sometimes forget that she could be invisible to him because of that coat of hers. He could smell everything in this God forsaken city but Red was the only he couldn't smell.

Red had gotten her red cloak enchanted by a witch after the 'incident'; the cloak would cover her scent so that he couldn't sense her. He truly believed that she was dead for a long time, so he was really surprised when she showed up in Fabletown alive and well about 50 years ago (he'd eventually learned about the enchanted cloak from Bufkin). She had also altered it into a trench coat so that it'll blend in with the Mundy fashion.

Even though he couldn't smell her, he still remembered her scent back in the Homelands. She smelt like the Black Forest and the wildflowers he tricked her to pick.

He watched her sigh frustratingly as a cab passed by her and then she sat down on a nearby bench. He found himself nervous as he started walking closer to her.

_Just stop being a fuckin' pansy and get it over with._ He felt like he was some fuckin' preteen boy trying to ask the girl he likes on a date; but he honestly didn't know how the conversation would go. He just needed to apologize now or else he'd lose the chance. He took a deep breath before he spoke,

"Evening, Miss Hood." He said when he approached her. She was started but then she smiled when she saw him,

"Evening, Mr. Wolf," Red had on make-up like most women, but she wore it in a natural way; her eyes were lightly mascaraed and her full lips were a shade pinker than her natural color. Despite being several centuries old, her forest green eyes still held that innocence.

"Have you come for the donuts?" She joked, "I just closed up for the night so I'm afraid you'll have to wait until tomorrow."

"Nah…" He felt himself ease up as he sat down on the other side of bench,

"I wanna get some shut-eye tonight and I wouldn't with all that sugar you and your Granny put in." He chuckled. He actually found her pastries really good (which shouldn't surprise him for Red and her grandmother had always been good cooks) but he just wanted to tease her.

Speaking of teasing, he faintly caught a whiff of her scent. Her coat's magic must be starting to fade. He quickly pulled out and lit his cigarette before he made a fucking idiot of himself for trying to smell her.

"Never seemed to bother you before Mr. Give-Me-One-of-Everything." She said playfully as he took a puff and snickered.

She always somehow brought out the mischievous and carefree wolf in him and he enjoyed it. It was very rare to have conversations like these with Red without being judgmentally stared at. Every Fable knew their story, and some would sneak in glances to see if the Big Bad Wolf will really eat up poor Little Red Riding Hood. Back then, she was only one who got away from him because she was saved.

"So… rough night?" He saw her looking concernedly at his bruised knuckles and then his face. Red knew he would be fine later, but she would put other's well-being before her own. It was one of the traits he admired about her.

"'Rough' is an understatement." He said coolly as he took a drag, "But it's been one of those nights."

"I can tell." She simply said and then the conversation turned quiet. He needed to say it now before he got distracted,

"Red, I want to say I'm sorry." There he said it, but he couldn't look at her eyes for some reason.

"What?" He glanced at her confused expression and explained,

"You know… What **happened** back home." They would talk about almost anything, even as something trivial like the weather, but they would never talk about what happened at her grandma's house; it was something he didn't like to revisit and it was definitely the same with her. It took her a moment to realize what he meant,

"Oh that! Well…" She put her arms up on top of the bench and joked, "Better late than never." He knew she was trying to ease the tension with humor but he didn't indulge her. He just waited for her next to move and then saw her looking at him with a serious expression,

"I forgive you if that's what you're wondering." He was speechless at her response and she continued,

"Look, I'm not going to lie: it was a frightening experience but that's all water under the bridge now. All I want to do is move past that and the first step is to forgive you. I… wanted to say it earlier but I know you didn't like talking about your past so I left it alone.

"Everyone is capable of changing and I know you're not the Big Bad Wolf I once encountered," Her expression became thoughtful and she smiled, "because if you still were, you wouldn't have apologized."

He felt like a ton of weight had been lifted off of his shoulders from Red's words. At first he didn't believe her, but her eyes told him that she was sincere. He just focused on his cigarette in fear that he might say something stupid or corny.

"So… can we friends?" She broke the awkward silence, "I mean we don't have to be drinking buddies or do each other's nails," She nervously chuckled as her hand fiddled with her hair, "but maybe lend each other an ear… if we needed to."

They weren't close friends but they would often do kind gestures to each other; like he would leave a large tip whenever he went to the bakery and she would offer him free coffee, which was better than the crap in his office, whenever he came.

What Red asked was a small step up in their relationship, and he didn't mind that.

"I'd like that." He simply said and saw her looking away shyly,

"Thank you, Mr. Wolf." She said softly.

"You can me Bigby you know."

"Okay, Bigby… Thank you." She smiled and he felt his heart skip a beat. He would never say this out loud, but this felt like this was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

That's when he noticed for the first time that there was something different about her; he couldn't tell if there was something physically or mentally but he knew it was something.

He was puffing whatever was left of his cigarette as they sat in silence, trying to figure out what to say next. He then heard her tapping her heel and saw that she had her arms crossed and in deep thought; it was a habit she did when she was troubled about something.

"Is everything alright Red?" He asked put out his cigarette. He hoped that the statement she just made would make her more open to him. After a moment she spoke gravely,

"Ganny's has Juniper fever again… I have to take her to the hospital in the morning." He nodded in understanding; he knew that the elder Fable has been dealing with this for the past few years.

Juniper fever was similar to the Mundy's Scarlet fever, but the difference was that it caused a bluish tinge on the skin as well as a blue tongue. Because of those characteristics, Fables diagnosed with this were strictly quarantined at the Knights of Malta Hospital until the illness was under control; and the medication for it was very expensive. It was relatively uncommon for Fables to get this disease because of their semi-immortality, but very young and elder Fables with compromising immune systems are susceptible to it, like Red's grandmother.

Red lived modestly and was able to afford a few simple luxuries; but with her grandmother hospitalized, she's left in charge of the bakery **and** has to get a second job in order to pay for the medication and the bills. For Red to care for her ailing grandma, work two full-time jobs, and being financially stretched was a lot for her to take – hell, for anyone to take.

"I'm sorry to hear that." He wished there was something he could do.

"It's not your fault." After a moment, she suddenly got up from the bench and stood in front of him, giving her his undivided attention,

"There is something I want to ask you… it's nothing urgent but I do need to speak with you sometime soon." She said nervously as she crossed her arms.

"Why not now Red?"

"Well…This is not the best place to discuss this," She gestured hers arms to the street, "and I would rather speak to you, alone… I don't trust anyone else at the Business Office."

He was very curious of her suspicion; he knew Mayor Cole would listen (but he wasn't here), Crane wouldn't, and of course Snow would. He wanted to press her but she looked uncomfortable so he just took her word,

"Sure."

"Thanks." She smiled, looking very relieved at his answer. She then looked at her wristwatch and sighed,

"Crap, I really need to get home; Ganny's going to have to fit." He glanced at her watch and saw it was almost one in the morning. Time always seemed to fly whenever they were talking.

"Want me to walk you home?" He offered as he stood up. He knew Red was a Fable who couldn't be easily killed and that she took some self-defense classes; but he wanted to stay with her a little longer.

"I'll be alright. Besides, if she saw you with me she'll chase you down with her stick." She chuckled.

"I wouldn't be surprised." He grumbled and she laughed,

"She's still hung up on 'a wolf can change its fur but never its nature' thing, but just give her time; she's stubborn but she'll come around."

_Yeah maybe in another 100 years…_He wanted to say but decided to keep the thought to himself. He watched Red pick up her purse and she seemed hesitant on leaving.

"So…I guess I'll see you later." She said timidly and he nodded since he couldn't really answer. He didn't want her leave.

She was about to walk in the direction of her apartment and then they saw a cab pull up next to them. He watched her mumble frustratingly,

"I swear, these cabs never come when you want them and they come when you don't want them." He quietly laughed to himself; she was cute when she got mad.

_Wait…Where the hell did that come from?_ He shook his thoughts out as he watched Red get into the cab but then she turned to him,

"Thanks for listening Bigby. I hope to see you soon." He knew she meant the thing she wanted to talk about, but the way she said it made him think it was something else. She shut the door and he heard her say 'Scarborough Fair Apartments'.

He watched the cab drive off and was left him with a strange feeling…

* * *

I may go back and tweak some things, I don't know.

So there's my Red Riding Hood, I wanted to make my version different from Bill Willingham's Red Riding Hood, and I believe I've accomplished that. She and Bigby are civil towards each other and she kind of has an advantage over him with the coat and that she can 'sense' when he's coming and feeling (though Bigby is unaware of the latter).

Also the voice actress I had in mind for Red would be Michelle Ruff (particularly the voice work she did as Katherine McBride from the game Catherine)

It might be very strange for Red to easily forgive Bigby for eating her but she forgave him long before they came to Fabletown but it's just Bigby doesn't know it yet. ;)

The next chapter will be coming real soon so stay tuned!


	4. III: Unwanted Guest

This part was originally going to be in the last chapter, but I broke my 3,000-word-limit-rule so I had to cut the chapter in half.

This may be a boring chapter but this chapter mainly shows my interpretation of Bigby's relationships with the other Fables, and I hope I got it right.

Anyway, enjoy the chapter.

* * *

Bigby felt elated but strange at the same time after Red had left. He shook his head to rid of these feelings and opened the gate of the Woodlands Luxury Apartments.

He was heading inside until his sharp ears picked up rustling, and he quickly saw a figure fled behind the trees. One whiff and he instantly knew who it was.

"Come on out, Beauty." He said sternly and someone came out after a tense minute,

"Alright…alright…" A woman emerged from the behind the tree. She had long honey blonde hair and wore pink-rectangular earrings, black carpi pants, and a burgundy trench coat. He watched her tread carefully through the shrubbery because of her platform heels. She then stood on the cobblestoned path with her arms crossed,

"I…wasn't expecting anyone." He could tell she was nervous by both her scent and body language. "I know this looks a little odd but there's an explanation, I swear."

"Then why'd ya hide when I walked up?"

"Well, I didn't know who it was." She answered quickly, too quickly for his liking, "You can't be too careful these days."

"No, you can't." He said with light suspicion. He saw her looked at her wristwatch,

"Dammit, I'm late." She cursed. He watched her walk towards the gate but then she stopped and looked at him.

"Please Bigby… Promise me you won't tell Beast you saw me." She pleaded, "He… worries too much as it is and it would just make my life a lot easier."

He let out a small sigh. He's known Beauty and her husband for a long time and they've been married longer than any other Fable couple, but they have their ups and downs like every couple, and the last thing he wanted was to get in the middle. Beauty must have her reasons for being so secretive but he didn't want to promise on something he knows nothing about.

"Look, whatever it is, it's between you and Beast. I'm staying out of it." He watched her light blue eyes narrow and then she sighed,

"I don't have time to go into it right now. I'll explain it all to you later but," she opened the gate and then closed it behind her, "I have to go. It's not what you… might be thinking." She stated before she left.

He sensed truth in her words and believed that she wasn't walking the street like the girl he helped out earlier. He shook the thoughts out of his head; all he wanted to do was get back to his apartment and sleep.

He headed inside the building and everything was the same in the lobby. Grimble was dozing off, again; and he didn't get any mail, again.

_Seventh day in a row…Must be a new record. _He that should be a blessing in disguise.

As he waited for the elevator, he noticed that his 'name plaque' fell off the board again. He sighed as he placed the flimsy paper scribed, B. Wolf back on the board. He never really understood why he couldn't get a real name plaque like everyone else.

He entered the old and slightly musky elevator and pushed the button to his floor. As the doors began to close, he saw a large and muscular Fable with thick brown hair and wore a black shirt and khaki pants. The man saw him and quickly ran to him,

"Bigby, wait up!" The man stopped the elevator doors and asked upsettingly, "Have you seen my wife? Have you seen Beauty?"

He knew that Beast loved Beauty more than anything and if he had a wife who was sneaking out at night, he would react the same way. But he firmly reminded himself that this wasn't his business and hoped that the couple will work out this problem.

"I'm staying out of this Beast."

"Staying out of what?" The cursed Fable looked at him questionably.

"I'm sorry." He apologized and he watched the former prince's expression become more distraught,

"Damnit… Something's going on, I just know it." He heard Beast say to himself rather than him and then left the building. The elevator doors closed and he just hoped there would be no more interruptions.

* * *

As he entered the apartment, he placed his keys on the table and took the phone's handset off of the hook. Immediately he noticed how hot his apartment was and went to the kitchen to crack the window up, but it did little help.

He planned on having a drink while cooling off before drifting off to sleep.

After he splashed his face, feeling slightly cooled, he heard snoring?

He investigated his small studio apartment and found a pig sleeping on his chair.

_Not again…_ He mentally groaned; looks like he wasn't going to get the relaxing evening, or morning, like he wanted.

"Hey Colin, get up." But his unwanted guest still slept, and then he tapped on Colin which roused him,

"Oh, hey Bigby…" The pig said sleepily, "I'm in your chair huh?"

"It's been a long day and I'm tired, so if you don't mind…" He sighed tiredly and then he rolled his eyes as Colin reluctantly got out of the chair. He settled on his chair while Colin leaned on a box by the TV.

"Got a smoke?" Colin asked as he pulled out his Huff 'n' Puff. After he lit his, he gave Colin one and lit it for him.

"Thanks." The pig puffed, "Couple thousand more of these, and we'll be even on that house you owe me." He had to wonder what the pig would do with all those cigarettes, make a house out of them?

He picked up his bottle of alcohol on the table and discovered it was empty. It seemed like the pig was mooching the day away while the wolf was working away, again.

"This has got to stop." He sighed as he put the bottle down and then got up, "You can't keep sneaking off The Farm like this." He turned the fan on and then headed into the kitchen with Colin following him,

"The fresh air and sunshine pitch they sell on you is bullshit. I didn't escape out of the Homelands to end up in some prison, okay. Don't send me back there Bigby." Colin pleaded.

"Calm down. I'm not sending you back." He said as he poured himself a full glass of bourbon and noticed Colin's relieved expression. It was his job to send Fables who couldn't pass as human to The Farm, but he honestly didn't have the time and energy to deal with it right now.

"That for me?" He saw Colin eyeing the glass in his hand,

"Nope." He replied and then went to his desk,

"The house didn't blow itself down Bigby, that's all I'm sayin'." Colin started, "Do with that, what you will. Now I'm not saying its reason enough for me to have definitely been offered a drink, but uh… it would have helped ease some of the pain you once caused me."

He just skimmed through the files on his desk while ignoring Colin's attempt to guilt him. He's heard it before and it was like a broken record.

"It would also show everyone how different you are now." The smoking pig persuaded,

"Well if that was all you were saying, I'd be able to get some rest." He replied and took a small sip of his drink.

"I take it all back… this is why everyone hates you." He just looked at pig doubtfully; surely not **everyone**hated him,

"So… everyone hates me?" He asked and after a moment, Colin shook his head,

"Nah... I'm just giving you shit."

"Look I'm doing my best here."

"Clearly that's not true, what with the selfishness with the bourbon." He just narrowed his eyes at Colin but didn't say anything as the pig continued,

"But uhh… hate's not the right word. They fear you more than anything. You ate a lot of people back in your day." God not this again,

"I thought we were all supposed to have a fresh start here. I can't change the past."

"Well you can't change people's memories either. I'm not saying it's fair but it's real. People are scared of you. I mean look at your hands." Colin said troublingly as he glanced at his bruised knuckles,

"Who'd get in a fight with? A Fable right, 'cause I'm sure you're not going around punching Mundies."

"I was doing my job, believe it or not." He firmly stated and Colin just gave him a blank stare,

"Your job is to beat the shit out of Fables?"

"Sometimes I take them to The Farm." He lightly countered.

"Fuck you." The pig huffed as he went back to his chair,

"You think my job is easy," he sighed as he placed his drink on the table, "You try keeping a bunch of Fables from killing each other. How do you think this all works?"

"I don't know?" The pig shrugged as leaned on the box, "How?"

"By being big and being bad." He answered. Not something he often liked to associate with but if it helped out in his line of work, then so be it.

"_By being big and being baaad_." Colin mocked, "Don't say that shit in front of people, it's embarrassing."

He just ignored the pig as he took a sip of his bourbon,

"See that's the attitude that gets you in trouble." Colin stated, "I'm sure you were shitty to everyone you came across tonight."

"Not everyone." He said as he recalled tonight's events.

"Oh yeah? Name one." Colin challenged. A couple of Fables came to mind but he knew Colin wouldn't be impressed with any of them, and there was no way he was going to mention Snow or Red, so he picked the mysterious prostitute he helped out earlier.

"Well…" He scratched his cheek, "I don't actually know her name."

"Awesome. Great example." Colin said coolly. He took a puff of his cigarette and then placed on the ashtray as Colin spoke with a somber tone,

"Life's easier with friends Bigby, and we live a long fuckin' time. I know you like this whole 'Lone Wolf' thing you got going for yourself, but I've seen the way you look at Snow, okay? You're not foolin' me." He narrowed his eyes at the smoking pig and was about to say something but Colin continued,

"And now I'm hearing that you've been hanging around with Red. You got an ulterior motive or something?" He saw the pig's beady eyes narrow in suspicion.

"Will you shut up?" He growled. He fuckin' **hated** it when Colin would pry into his personal life. How he looked at Snow and what he did with Red was none of the pig's business.

"Well, maybe if my throat wasn't so parched, I wouldn't have to keep talking." He had to do a double-take on the pig's reply,

"Wait that doesn't make se—"

"Just give me a drink please!" Colin begged,

"Colin **enough **already." He said exasperatedly, "I haven't slept for the past few days, done a shitload of paperwork, and went out through a second-story window. I want to get in two seconds of shut eye before I…" He stopped when he saw Colin's pitiful expression and sighed,

"Look, if I give you this," he indicated to glass in his hand, "will you let me sleep?"

"Yeah, yeah, alright… Probably." Colin grumbled.

He glanced at his glass and sighed; he better not regret this. He got up and gave Colin the drink,

"Thanks Bigby." Colin thanked as he finished the glass.

He didn't say anything as he sat back down on his chair, feeling his eyes getting heavy. With everything at happened to him today, he was out like a light and hoped that Red's forgiveness would keep the nightmares at bay…

_He was in his office doing the usual paperwork and other crap. He finished his Huff 'n' Puff and then put it into his ashtray of piling cigarette butts. _

_He went to get another one but the carton was empty. He griped when he realized that he just finished his last cigarette, but then he felt a pair of hands kneading on his shoulders. He let out a moan as his brown eyes closed._

God that feels good, _he sighed pleasurably. He felt the tension disappear as the hands worked their magic. _

_He didn't know who it was but he knew that it was a woman; judging by the small hands and feminine scent. It was a sensual gesture and he liked sensual._

_He heard her giggling in his ear and then felt silky lips trailing kisses from his temple down to the crook of his neck, and then up to corner of his lips. He opened his eyes and saw—_

* * *

Was it Red or Snow in Bigby's dream? Maybe Faith? That's for you readers to interpret. ;)

I did have issues on what to tell Beauty and Beast. I'd figured that Bigby wouldn't want to get in the middle of their affairs but I could imagine him sympathizing with Beast.

I want to let y'all know that I will go back to my chapters and rewrite some things, nothing major though. I'll update the revised chapters whenever I upload a new chapter so that I won't get y'all's hopes up.

Stay tuned for some Bigby and Snow interaction in the next chapter.


	5. IV: Cat's out of the Bag

Episode 4 of The Wolf Among Us comes out on the 27th! I can't wait!

It took me awhile to like Snow but after I read her backstory, I instantly liked her. Her coldness is because of her abuse from the dwarves and her cheating ex-husband but she became a strong and independent, if not flawed, woman. I really did enjoy expressing Bigby's feelings and attraction to Snow in this chapter.

Anyway enjoy the chapter!

* * *

Bigby was startled awake from his pleasant dream by rapid knocking. He noticed that Colin was gone and it was still dark out. He estimated that he only got at least a few hours of sleep (at least an hour maybe) but he felt energized. While he was curious about the mysterious woman in his dream, he had other business to attend to.

And speaking of mysterious, he thought that the prostitute came by to give her statement. He got up and was about to answer the door, until he caught a whiff of lilacs.

_Snow… _He thought fondly as he straightened his tie. He opened the door, hoping to see her lovely face but instead saw her in distress.

"Come with me." She quickly said as she briskly walked to the elevator. He worryingly followed her and tried calling out her name but she didn't answer. He called her again and then she snappily answered,

"Sorry… I'm…" She quickly apologized, her sweet scent just radiated of uneasiness.

"What happened?" He asked concernedly; it pained him to see her like this.

"I just can't get into it this second. We need to—" She stopped her sentence short when a red-haired Fable came across their path. After she had greeted back, she continued walking and he continued following her.

"These walls are paper thin..." She said concernedly as they waited for the elevator.

"We'll talk outside." She simply said before they got in the elevator.

Snow was known to be very cool and composed, as well as cold, but he knew better. Her ice queen persona was due to her sleazebag of an ex-husband, Prince Charming, (and the dwarves) but she was very compassionate and really cared about the community. He admired her for those traits and he knew it took a lot for her to lose her cool, so that whatever she'd encountered was really drastic.

* * *

In the lobby he noticed a jacket labeled 'Security' out on the Woodlands stoop. As he opened the door, he caught a whiff of decaying flesh…

He kneeled down the steps which gave him a better leverage, and then he saw Snow stand near the door with her arms nervously crossed. He looked at her one more time out concern before he lifted the jacket.

His eyes widened in shock when he saw a decapitated head of the prostitute he met up earlier.

"No…" He shook his head. How could it be? He just saw the girl not too long ago. With her lifeless green eyes staring at him, the nightmare of Red's decapitated head flashed in his mind. He immediately closed the dead girl's eyes.

"You knew this girl?" Snow asked as she walked closer,

"She was a prostitute." He explained, "I helped her out earlier but I never caught her name." He saw Snow sadly looking at the head,

"I don't know who she is…" She sadly admitted and then mumbled to herself, "I thought I knew everyone in Fabletown."

_So did I…_ He thought as he looked at the decapitated girl. He then recapped the events to Snow,

"The Woodsman had attacked her and I stepped in, then he threatened to kill us both."

"You don't think he…" He saw her face in shock,

"I don't think anything yet." He cut her off, "Just gimme a second." He needed to stay calm; if he panicked or jumped to conclusions, Snow would too and he didn't **need** or **want **that. The Woodsman looked like a promising suspect but he had to explore all the possibilities.

She explained to him that she found the head when she stepped out of the office, used Grimble's jacket to cover it up, and then went to get him. She also told him that she didn't really see anyone here.

"Bigby, did one of us… do this?" She nervously asked after a minute. He knew she didn't like the idea of a Fable killer, hell no one did.

"There hasn't been a murder in Fabletown in a long time." Fables couldn't die very easy like Mundies but a Fable can still get killed.

"All the more reason we shouldn't start a panic before we know what's going on."

He saw her looking straight ahead and followed her gaze, there were people walking about. He needed to hurry before people start coming through here. He watched Snow move behind him and then he began examining the head.

First thing he noticed how it was placed with great care, then he saw a strange cut on the neck, which he deducted that it was made by something very sharp and/or magical, and lastly he noticed something sticking out of her mouth,

"What the…" He said as he pulled the object from her mouth. It was the ribbon the girl wore on her neck, and there was a ring tied on the end. As he studied the symbol on the ring, he sensed Snow leaning closer to him; her wintery-and-lilac scent teasing him – God she smelt so good. He cursed at his primal instincts; this was not the time for that!

"Mm… I don't recognize it..." He was mentally relieved when she stood back up.

"Neither do I." When he stood up, he noticed a trail of blood going to the right side of the building.

"So… What next?" He heard her ask.

"I need to investigate the area. See if the killer left anything behind." He stated and saw her shift uncomfortably.

"Good idea." She agreed as she looked away. He then placed a concerned hand on her shoulder,

"Hey, you alright?"

"I'll be fine." She accepted his gesture and gave him a small smile, "Just hurry, please." He nodded understandingly; he knew she didn't want to be here any longer so he would try and make this quick. He removed his hand and went over to the blood puddle,

"Probably been here hour… Maybe." He analyzed as he rubbed the blood with his fingertips. He got up and followed the blood trail to the wrought iron fence that blocked off to the Woodland Gardens. He immediately noticed the blood on one of the tips,

"Someone might've hopped the fence, got caught, and then left the trail I found earlier." He observed but the weird thing was that the there was no other blood trail. He then noticed a piece of fabric by the fence that's been here recently; the fabric felt like denim and it was very lightly colored – like acid wash. There was barely a scent on it and probably useless, but he kept it just in case.

He theorized that the killer wanted to send a message to the Fabletown government. He believed that the killer killed the girl in another area, cut off her head, and then placed her on the steps on the Woodlands Building for the officials to find. They took every precaution of not getting caught by going through the Gardens but they accidently cut themself on the tip, which explained the blood trail. The strange thing was that he couldn't track the scent.

Who did this and why, he doesn't know yet, but he will find out and make that son of bitch pay for this.

As he walked back to the entrance, his sharp eyes caught something black running through the foliage but it quickly disappeared behind the building. He tried to get a scent on it but it was too faint for him to make out. He didn't know how focused he was until heard Snow calling out to him,

"Bigby, what's wrong?" She asked concernedly.

"It's nothing." He lied and was relieved she seemed to accept his answer. He didn't want to lie to her but he didn't want to worry her either. He then saw her look at the head,

"We should move her… before anyone shows up. I'm sure she'll be in the books and then we'll notify her family." She sighed and then she looked at him,

"Bigby… What kind of monster would do this?" Her melancholy expression just made his heart heavy, "Why would they do this?"

Once he explained his theory to her, she agreed with him and then sighed,

"I'm going to have to tell Crane about this." He softly growled and didn't hide his irritation from her,

"He's only acting Mayor for as long as King Cole is gone." She reasoned, "He needs to know or else it'll be worse for us. I know you don't like him, but… he's our boss."

"I guess it's useless to drag it out." He relented. He was **not** looking forward to this. He knew Crane would blame this on him and most likely Snow, and then try to undermine the investigation.

"He won't be happy about this, but hopefully he can be rational about it."

"I wouldn't hold my breath." He mumbled. He just knew that this bad morning was going to get worse…

* * *

After he took the head to Dr. Swineheart like Snow had ordered and encountered a disgruntled Fable, he entered the Business Office where a balding and elder Fable was berating Snow,

"…Who else is to blame, if not you?!" He couldn't stand watching this shit so he stepped in,

"It isn't anyone's fault, Crane." He glared at an irritated Ichabod Crane, "Instead of trying to assign blame, maybe we should figure out how to catch the fucker who did this."

"Oh? Is that how you see things?" Crane scoffed as he smoothed out his violet suit,

"Sheriff, you are the one charged with protecting the citizens of Fabletown." Crane criticized as he adjusted his pince-nez and then sat at his desk chair,

"Your failure to do so cost someone their life, and the safety of the entire community!" He saw Snow sit down on a chair while he just remained standing while Crane continued,

"You two need to get a handle on this situation quickly and quietly. The last thing we need is all of Fabletown knowing there's a killer among us." Crane then barked at Snow,

"Call Vivian right this minute and let her know I'm coming in early for my massage." He raised an eyebrow: a massage at this time in the morning? He then saw Crane looking for something on his desk,

"And where's the bottle of wine you were to purchase? Forget it, you can't do anything right." Crane scoffed at her. He knew she would always do whatever stupid errand Crane make her do and that prick never appreciated her; and that really pissed him off,

"Do your job Sheriff or we'll someone who can." Crane snidely remarked as he was leaving. That's it.

He growled and was fixing to tell the prick off but he felt her hand on his shoulder. Once Crane was gone, her hand left his shoulder as he turned back to her,

"You would've just pissed him off more." She firmly stated as he sighed frustratingly. He knew that she was pissed at Crane as much as he was, but she was trying to be diplomatic.

"Well, that could've gone better." She sighed as she put her hands on her hips. "Maybe we should've 'dragged' it out."

"You were right though. It was better to tell him now or it would've been worse later."

"Yeah. Maybe…" She said unsurely as he pulled out a cigarette and was fixing to light it,

"Crane doesn't like people smoking in—" He just gave her an 'I don't give a shit' expression as he lit his cigarette, "Nevermind."

"So…" He puffed after a moment, "Wine and a massage at this time of morning?"

"Crane is out the door at the mere scent of stress," She explained as she waved the smoke away from her, "and the wine is probably a gift, which is weird because that meant he was being nice to someone; and I know I bought that damn bottle…"

He had a pretty good guess what happened to it and then sure enough he saw a winged-monkey peeking out from behind a cabinet,

"Is… Is he gone?"

"Yes, thankfully." She said in relief. He watched the creature flew with a bottle in his paw and drunkenly landed on her desk. After she questioned the monkey about the bottle and then took it, he turned to the creature,

"How are you today Mr. Bigby?" The primate asked pleasantly.

"It hasn't been a great morning, Bufkin." He admitted dismally as he took another drag.

"Sorry…" Bufkin said apologetic. He'd admit that the winged-monkey was a scatter-brain who always drank on the job, but Bufkin was easier and more pleasant to work with than Crane, besides Snow of course.

"Not your fault. Thanks for asking, though." He said appreciatively and then he saw Snow come back,

"Bufkin, get the books." She ordered.

"Which books?"

"The ones with all the Fables in it."

"I'm not sure that was any more specific." He said to her as he took another drag of his cigarette. There were tons of books that had Fables that ranged from Europe all the way to the Arabian 1001 Nights.

"Bring the first three." She clarified as Bufkin flew off and then started dialing the phone on her desk,

"I need to get this 'appointment' squared away, so see if the Mirror can help you. Let me know if you need anything okay?" She gave a small smile at him before talking on the phone.

He felt his heart flutter when she smiled at him and couldn't help but smile back even though she wasn't looking at him. He shook his head to rid of the feeling, for now at least. With one last drag, he stomped out his cigarette and went to the Mirror.

His brown eyes then caught a distinctive black blur dashing on the ground, it was the same one he saw outside, and then disappeared into the shadows. With one whiff, he instantly knew who it was and felt a headache coming on…

He scanned the shadowy cabinets and then his sharp ears picked up paws scampering,

"Puss, I know you're in here…" He mildly growled, "Ya better come out or else." He saw a pair of green glowing eyes in the darkness, and then a cat emerged and trotted toward him without a care. Many animals saw through his human-façade and normally react violently toward him but this cat was not normal…

The cat had a black-and-white tuxedo pattern, large and expressive green eyes, a fluffy black tail, and white 'socks'. Many Mundies would find this cat cute, but he and nearly every Fable knew better. When the cat was in front of him, it stood up like a human,

"Or else what Biggy? I come by to say hello and this is the greeting I get." The feline harrumphed as he crossed his arms. He just glared at the cat; annoyed by the 'nickname' he was given.

"Watch it..." He warned as he stared down at the barely 3-footed cat, "How long have you been in here?"

"Oh…" Puss started nonchalantly as he looked at his claws, "Long before the beautiful Miss Snow told the 'scaredy-cat' Deputy Mayor about the head found in front of the Woodlands." In short, the damn cat heard everything about the murder. He growled in frustration as Puss would say, to his displeasure, 'the cat's out of the bag'…

Puss was a Fable from the story "Puss in Boots"; of course he had to confiscate the boots when Puss came to the Mundy World, but that didn't keep the feline out of trouble. The calls he would get about Puss were either 'disturbing the peace' by serenading to the women late at night or 'breaking and entering' the Business Office looking for a specific artifact; and since Puss was a cat, it was extremely difficult for him to catch – unless he was in wolf form which cannot happen. He knew Puss was relatively harmless but a huge pain in the ass.

Like Colin, Puss was sent to The Farm because he couldn't afford glamour and then escape, but he could easily blend in with the Mundy cats as long as he 'walked' and 'talked' like a normal cat, which was quite difficult for the talkative feline.

"Bigby?" He heard Snow's voice, "What are you…" She stopped short when he moved slightly and Puss was in her line of sight,

"Oh no…" She groaned as she pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration.

"Ah… Dearest Snow." The cat purred as he strutted toward her,

"You are truly a radiant sight at this early in the morning. Why, it's always been a dream of mine to gaze upon your fair face every morning."

He saw that Snow was clearly unimpressed at the cat's God-awful pick-lines and knew that this was going to be one **looong **morning…

* * *

There's my new character Puss, he's like a mixture of Jack Horner and Prince Charming, a scheming trickster and skirt chaser, but he's really not a major threat to Bigby - just an annoyance. I based Puss on the character Daxter from the video game series Jak & Daxter.

Puss's owner will be introduced in the next chapter, as well as a little surprise, so stay tuned.


	6. V: Faith

Probably not my best chapter, but what do y'all think? I would love to hear y'all's opinions.

Also, how did you like Episode 4? I personally liked it and can't wait for the final episode.

Anyway, enjoy the chapter!

* * *

Bigby took out his usual brand of cigarettes and lit one up. He inhaled the nicotine smoke in order to drown out the unpleasant scent of Puss's arousal. That cat would flirt with any woman, princess or glamoured troll as long as she had some T&A, and was always rejected but that didn't stop him. He casually took a drag as he watched the conversation before him,

"Aren't you supposed to be at The Farm? How the hell did you get out?" She demanded as she put her hands on her hips. He knew she was firm of 'non-human Fables living on The Farm' rule but he also knew that Puss wasn't going to reveal how he escaped to her; the cat was a braggart and womanizer but not stupid.

"If you wish to know my secrets that's best saved for pillow talk, but I'll tell you this: that place is like a Fable version of Alcatraz." He took another puff and saw her face twitch in irritation; he knew she **disliked** the cat's vulgarity,

"You're overreacting, it can't be that bad." She slightly scoffed.

"_Au Contraire_, Fair Snow." The tomcat crooned, "You and Biggy here have never set foot there." He glowered at the cat for using that nickname again but Puss ignored him,

"Now since he isn't allowed on The Farm… lucky him…" Puss sourly pointed at him and then pleasantly spoke back to her, "maybe you could accompany me there. Life would be much more 'pleasurable' there and you could be my 'roommate', what do you say?" The cat purred and rubbed her legs like a regular cat would. He just shook his head at the feline's pathetic attempt to seduce Snow.

"Not even in your dreams." She scoffed as she moved away from the cat which caused him to flop over,

"Well what are you doing here? You know that you can't be here without permission." She questioned as Puss got up and dusted himself off,

"I was looking for something to help me save money from buying those crappy glamour spells." His mind clicked and he instantly knew what the feline was after,

"Yer looking for that knife again, weren't you?"

"Knife? You mean the one that was used on you?" She asked surprisingly. Centuries ago, she'd given him a lycanthropy-stained knife so that he could shapeshift into a human in order to live here in Fabletown, since he was not allowed on The Farm because of his reputation. For some strange reason, Puss wanted it in hope he could shapeshift into a human like him but there was one thing: That knife was **wolf**-related and Puss was a **cat**.

"The very one…" He said as he took another drag and then glared down at the tuxedo cat who was casually grooming himself,

"Look cat, ya ain't getting that knife. The last thing I need is a wolfcat running loose in the city and exposing us."

"Oh, come on Biggy. It could very well change me into a human." The tomcat reasoned, "I wouldn't need to bother David with money to buy the cheaply-made and expensive, crap-glamour and things would be so much better if I was human right?" Puss then had a thoughtful look on his face,

"But if that doesn't work, maybe Red will be interested in taking a 'ride' on my 'wolfish' side. Did you know she has this thing for wolves?"

He scowled at the tomcat's sense of 'logic'. It seemed like that Puss just wanted to give him another problem to deal with; he has a feeling that the cat enjoyed annoying the hell out of him. Then his curiosity piqued on the feline's last remark about Red's likening to wolves but before he could ponder on that, Snow got the conversation back on track,

"Speaking of David, does he know you're here?"

"Hey, it's not like I can call him on the payphone. I mean, a cat talking on the phone will certainly turn some heads." Puss gestured to his black-and-white furred body.

"You could've just gone to his apartment and that would've saved us from this conversation."

"And miss our love chats, not a chance." He saw her get more annoyed as Puss continued,

"Besides, he's got all these locks in place and it's not like I have any place to stash the key." He raised an eyebrow at this: that cat was notorious at trespassing into places, as he just broke into the Business Office, so getting into his owner's apartment wouldn't be difficult for this 'cat burglar'. The gleam in Puss's green eyes told him that he was up to something…

"Plus, he's quite the heavy sleeper. I mean the guy can sleep through a banshee's cry during a thunderstorm. So since I'm here, maybe you could call him up for me." He watched her sigh frustratingly as she walked over the Crane's desk and dialed the phone. He then stomped out his cigarette as he followed her, and then leaned against the desk while Puss jumped on top.

As he watched her talk on the phone, he saw her frown become a smile and then picked up very small traces of her arousal. He didn't **like** it one bit.

David was an accountant here and his job was to keep track of the Fabletown funds, and was also a financial advisor for some Fables. He was familiar with the former miller-prince and knew that he was the complete opposite of Puss: Hardworking and honest and didn't give him any trouble. He should've liked the guy but the way Snow looked at David made him feel jealous.

_Wait… What the fuck am I jealous for? _He scolded himself at the feeling. He knew that he was a lot different than David but lately he's noticed that Snow was more attracted to the accountant than him, and that made his heart feel heavy. He shook off these ridiculous feelings as he heard her speak,

"Well he's coming over get to you. We were in the middle of an important investigation and your scheming cost us valuable time. If I was David, I'd have you neutered and made sure you would never leave The Farm but he still holds you in regard." She said vexingly with her arms crossed.

"Yeesh, you sure know how to kill the mood," Puss winced as he covered his private area but then he looked at her lovingly,

"But I love it when you take control, ever considered being a dominatrix?" He saw that she was about retort back but then he heard a Fable rushing in.

He was a tall individual that looked to be in his late-twenties with naturally tanned skin, had grey-blue eyes, and dirty blonde hair in a short mullet-style. He wore a white dress shirt, khaki pants and brown loafers. His appearance was quite disheveled for he just woken up: his hair was messy, his shirt was misbuttoned, and he hadn't shaved yet. Red had mentioned that he looked like some popular Mundy actor, Patrick Swanky-or-something.

"Dave!" Puss greeted happily, "How are you this morning."

"Tired." David replied tiredly and then mildly glared at the feline, "Couldn't you pick a later time to get caught?"

"Hey, can I help it if the most interesting things happen around the witching hour, am I right Biggy?" Puss nudged at him and he just gave a glare in response.

"Miss White, Sheriff Wolf, I'm really sorry for all the trouble Puss caused." The miller-prince said apologetically.

"It's alright David." She said sympathetically, quite opposite of how she was with Puss, "You can't control him as much as we can but please try harder."

"As you wish…" The accountant said sincerely and the scent her arousal grew stronger, which instantly put him in a sour mood. He's heard him say that phrase to her before and that always put a smile on her face. As Puss and David were leaving, he quickly told her that he was going to see them off but he really had a hunch…

"…Have a little faith in me Dave, you wouldn't last five minutes." Puss said as he trotted in front of them, "Where you'd be without me?"

"Still in bed…" The accountant groaned as he stretched the kinks out of his body. For the centuries he's known those two, he would never understand their strange friendship.

The tale of Puss in Boots was quite different than the Mundy's version. Puss was really in debt to an ailing miller and was to repay through his youngest son David. To get out of debt, the cat tried to have David killed or imprisoned but that backfired into David marrying a princess, and then later she later divorced him because of Puss. The ironic twist to all this was that David had planned on dropping Puss's debt and knew that the cat tried to kill him but he forgave him. David was truly the only friend that Puss had and that cat was loyal to him than any dog; they were very different which was probably why they got along rather well.

Now living in the Mundy World, Puss would generally move back and forth between The Farm and the New City streets, sometimes he hung out at his owner's place, while David lived in an apartment here in the Woodlands. He knew that the miller-prince was wealthy, due to Puss somehow smuggling his fortune here, but not as Bluebeard. Nevertheless, the accountant didn't have to struggle like other Fables but he never flaunted his wealth and former high status. Maybe that's why Snow was attracted to him, because he wasn't like her sleazebag ex-husband…

He shook off the thought; this was not the time for him to be worrying over this! He opened the door for David, who thanked him, and then asked,

"Hey David, are you a heavy sleeper?"

"No, quite the opposite really," He honestly replied and then looked at him questionably, "why?"

_Damnit… _He knew that damn cat set this whole thing up.

"No reason, have a good morning." He briskly said as he shut the door on a confused David. He started walking toward a table where the books were,

"He's been under a lot of stress lately." Snow somberly said to him, "He's been pulling all-nighters to make sure that the funds are in place, and Bluebeard watching over his shoulder doesn't help matters."

"Yeah…" He simply said without looking at her. He honestly couldn't give a rat's ass right now; they've wasted too much time because of Puss and he wanted get back to finding out the name of the dead girl and then track down her killer.

"Let's just get back to work."

* * *

After about an hour of looking through the books, he finally found the ring's symbol which told him that the girl was probably from a royal family back in the Homelands. The other book was written in a different language, so Bufkin had to translate for him and he learned quite a few things: the Woodsman's axe had a druid blessing: He couldn't believe someone blessed that damn thing; the magic word 'Bricklebit': He mentally cringed after he heard what it does, he's had a somewhat similar situation in the past and he didn't want to relive it; the boots Puss had gave the ability of swiftness: He was really glad he confiscated those boots.

"That's the symbol. What's it say?" He pointed it to Bufkin,

"Hmm… That's an odd one, 'All-lair-lie-rau'. I'll go look it up."

"Allerleirauh… That's German for 'All-Kinds-of-Fur'." Snow said as they gathered around Bufkin,

"Let's see… 'Donkeyskin Girl, A.K.A. Donkeyskin, A.K.A. Ass skin," The monkey chortled, "prefers to go by the name Faith.' Poetic!"

_So her name was Faith…_ He sighed for he had to learn of her name **after** she died in a gruesome way…

"Bufkin, we don't need the commentary." She said seriously as Bufkin began reading,

"_Once upon a time, there was once a great king with a beautiful queen. The queen grew ill and had her husband promise to only marry the most beautiful girl in the kingdom. After a long search, it became clear that the only woman in the land that could match her beauty was_…'" He then saw Bufkin's face become shocked as he read the next words,

"_His daughter… Faith_…" He was stunned to hear this. He knew many Fables had some fucked up pasts but incest was shocking, even for him.

"_She had a magic cloak made from the skin of her father's prized donkey that would hide her beauty, so she could escape his kingdom. Eventually she married a prince named Lawrence, who could see past the magic cloak and knew her true beauty, and they lived happily ever after_…" Bufkin finished gloomily and then turned to Snow,

"Should I… mark it…?"

"Yes…" He then saw Bufkin take a stamp and pressed it on Faith's page and the word 'DECEASED' appeared in bright red. He turned away for he didn't want to see** that **any longer…

"Well we got what we came for." Snow said, breaking the awkward silence but he didn't say anything,

"Her name's Faith and Prince Lawrence is her husband. I mean that's more than we—"

"Her name **was** Faith and Prince Lawrence **was** her husband." He dismally corrected her and she sadly nodded in agreement,

"We should talk to the husband." He said as he ran a hand over his face.

"Do you think he did it?" She asked curiously.

"It's too early for me to jump to conclusions but I can't rule him out as a suspect. But despite all that, he needs to know what happened to his wife." Lawrence's reaction would tell him if he's a suspect or not.

"You're right." She agreed, "Let me check the records and see if he's home." She went over to her desk and checked for Lawrence's information. He walked over to her as she dialed the phone and after a minute, he saw he face become confused,

"That's strange. No one's picking up… Bigby, can you go see if the Mirror can tell you anything? I'm going to check to see if he's at work." She went back to business mode and he did what she ordered. At the mirror, he couldn't help checking out his appearance before he asked the Mirror,

"Hey, Magic Mirror I got a question." His reflection disappeared as green flames emerged, making the dark area he's in glow, and a green head appeared,

"You know the rule…" The Mirror stated.

"I don't have time for this shit." He groaned.

"You impatience is callow, you're needlessly cruel; but have some respect for this historic rule." The head rhymed. He hated that rule, one of most annoying rules he's known. If you want to consult the Mirror, you must do it in rhyme.

"I need to… find a prince… so show me… Lawrence…" He 'rhymed'.

"See, was that so hard?"

"I'm about two seconds away from kicking a hole in ya." He growled.

"There's no need for that…" The Mirror coolly stated as the looking glass revealed a dark room with a man sitting in a lounge chair in front of a TV and a bloodied dagger right next to him…

_That doesn't look good. _He thought as the image changed back into his reflection.

"He wasn't at his workplace." He heard Snow say as she walked up to him, "The employer said that he was let go because of cutbacks, and that was about a month ago. Did you have any luck with the Mirror?"

"Well—" He started but the phone rang. She answered it and then handed it to him. He took the phone and someone spoke before he could,

"_**Bigby! You there? It's me, Toad.**_" He heard crashing on the other line and he knew something was wrong,

"What do ya want?"

"_**Listen, there's a bloke going through all the Woodman's things upstairs. Get over here before he—**_" He heard more crashing and then he heard Toad screaming before the phone disconnected.

_Well that doesn't sound good. _He thought as he placed the phone back on the receiver.

"What was that about?" She asked.

"Something's going on over at Toad's and it doesn't sound good. I need to head over there." He said as he started walking to the door,

"Was it the Woodsman?" She asked as she walked beside him.

"Maybe but whoever it was, Toad wasn't happy to see 'em." He opened the door for her, which made her smile at his gesture and then went ahead. Despite what happened earlier with David, he still believed that he had a chance with her, even if it was very slim.

"Well, what about Prince Lawrence? Did the Mirror show you where he was?" She asked as they got into the elevator.

"Yeah, it looked like he was at his apartment, but the room was very dark and there was a knife beside him. It looked pretty ominous to me but Toad sounds like he needs help now. We'll head over there and then check on Lawrence after."

"Alright." She nodded, "I wasn't looking forward to breaking the news anyway."

He mentally agreed with her as they walked out of the Woodlands and into the direction of Toad's apartment, unaware of what he'll find there…

* * *

Yep, I gave Snow a love interest. I may not be a huge fan of her, but she needs some love too and her being attracted to someone else will slowly drive a wedge between her and Bigby.

According to what I've read, Snow has this warped belief that only she can be happy with the 'fairytale' prince; it's on Wikipedia. I wanted to play with that and so after researching I came to Puss in Boots, and it clicked for me. I made David kind of like Westley from The Princess Bride and he fits her requirements, and he is the complete opposite of Prince Charming, which are good reasons for her to like him.

I hope y'all enjoyed Puss and David; you won't see them again until episode 2.

Next is Toad's place so stay tuned!


	7. VI: Storm in the Willows

Sorry for the long wait. Hope y'all enjoy the chapter!

* * *

Bigby's brown eyes winced at the glaring morning sun that just started to come out. He and Snow walked for a while until he noticed cars passing through. He hailed a cab so that they wouldn't have to walk all the way to Toad's. There he told her last night's events,

"…And we ended up going out the window and I landed on Toad's car." He said as the cab reached their destination.

"Wow, you guys made a real mess…" She remarked as she got out and looked at the battered and graffitied apartment complex and a smashed up car. He got out after he'd paid for the cab fare and winced at the sight.

"Yeah, looks worse in the day." He said as he looked at the huge hole. Then he suddenly spotted a large male figure in the apartment; he was too wide to be Woody, too tall to be Toad and with one whiff, he knew that the person wasn't either Fable. He doesn't recognize the scent but he will find out shortly.

He ordered at her stay as he quickly made his way to Woody's apartment, but saw the room was empty and he couldn't track the scent,

"Shit!" He cursed. How can someone so big move that fast and lose their scent? He quickly got over and refocused. Once he gestured to Snow that it was safe to come in, he decided to quickly investigate the apartment before joining her. Toad said someone was looking for something in Woody's apartment, maybe that someone left a clue…

He gazed at the turned over couch and broken sink and remembered the last night's brawl with Woody. He didn't remember the process of the fight, but boy did he remember how it **felt** it afterwards; he could still feel the aches on his now healed bones.

He didn't find anything in the battered apartment, and then something caught his eye by the empty bookcase. He picked up a colorful matchbook that advertised a bar called 'Trip Trap'. He'd been there once before the 20th century and he didn't exactly get a warm reception, he doubt he would get one now. He didn't know if the matchbook belonged to Woody or the unknown intruder but going to the bar would be a good lead. He needed to find the Woodsman since he might have a potential motive to harm Faith and maybe he can get a lead on this unknown person. He glanced at the bar's business hours and saw that it wouldn't open until in the evening, so he decided he'll head over there after he's—

"_I'm sorry!_" A child's voice cried and snapped him out of his thoughts,

"_That's enough, alright! Just shut it!_" He heard Toad shouting and then a child sobbing afterwards. His gut told him something was wrong and quickly made his way back to the foyer. There, he saw Snow by the staircase and she immediately noticed him,

"Did you find anything?" She asked.

"Not really. I have a possible lead though." But before he could go into detail, he heard the child's sobbing again and she heard it too,

"Is that Toad's son?" She asked as they walked to Toad's door.

"Yeah, I think his name's T.J." He's seen the kid a few times and he could smell the fear off of the frog-boy every time he looked at him; he knew the boy was scared of him because he's the 'Big Bad Wolf'. He was about to knock until she stopped him by placing her smooth and manicured hand on his chest,

"Be nice in there, okay?" She said concernedly. He should've relished her touch but her words made him slightly saddened; sure he could be rough when dealing with some Fables, but he would **never** be rough in front of kids.

_Of course she would think that…_ His mind told him. She would rarely accompany him on cases because she's been busy working the behind the desk and doing errands for Crane, but she was aware how he handled things and only wanted to make sure that there wasn't any violence. He was going to show her that he always doesn't do it the 'big and bad' way.

"Hey Toad, you in there?" He called out and attempted to knock on the door, but it creaked opened when he touched it and thought that the lock was busted. When he entered, he instantly got a whiff of blood and the scent of the intruder as heard Toad shushing,

"Bigby… and Miss White!" The amphibian greeted as he stood in front of his whimpering son,

"Surely you didn't come all this way for my bother. It's embarrassing to have to admit but…eh, I thought there was someone else in Woody's place, but it was nothing but a leaky drain pipe. Imagination must've got the best of me. Sorry for the false alarm and I didn't mean to bring Miss White into this, but thanks for coming, much appreciated. "

His instincts told him that something happened here but for some reason, Toad's not saying anything. He quickly glanced around and saw some papers in disarray and a broken lamp near Snow.

He then saw her kneeling and toward the whimpering kid,

"Are you alright?" She asked concernedly.

"He's fine, Miss White," Toad answered for his son, "Just stung his little toe is all. Better swimmer than walker, just like his dad. So I guess you'll be taking off now. I'm sure you pretty busy so don't let me keep you." The landlord said quickly and was walking to the door to let them out, but he placed a firm hand on the door, indicating that they weren't going anywhere,

"I'm going to check things out for a bit before we leave, just so that this trip wasn't a complete waste of time. The longer you talk, the longer this takes, so just stand over there and shut up."

"Alright, alright, I just don't want to waste your time. Have a cup o' tea and some biscuits from Red's bakery, make yourselves home," Toad grumpily complied as he stood by the railing, "but mind the upholstery while you're lookin' for nothin'."

Once Toad was away from his kid, he saw Snow go over to the lightly browned frog-boy,

"Hey T.J…" She said gently "Flycatcher said you had a 'pretty awesome' insect collection, do you mind if I see it?" He knew she had better luck with easing kids and T.J. spoke to her,

"Okay," the kid nodded, "it has a weevil."

"Cool…" She smiled as she took T.J. into his room, but not before giving him a 'please don't be harsh' look. After the closed, he immediately pointed out the broken lamp,

"So mind telling me what happened here?"

"It's simple Bigby, I accidently knocked the damn thing fell off."

"Right… You just knocked it off the table." He said unconvinced as he kneeled down to examine the lamp and then he noticed that the outlet was full of plugs,

"Now how can that be when there's no room for the lamp to be plugged it?" He asked suspiciously as he stood back up. Then his sharp eyes saw lamp's original place on a dusty table with a clean space by the lounge chair…

"Christ, you some interior decorator now? I-I did some refiguring—who fuckin' cares?" The frog said irritatingly.

"Sure you did." He said with 'I don't buy it' look and then his eye caught the molding on the door, which as missing a big chunk near the doorknob,

"And your door looks like it was kicked in too." He noted and then stared to head to the living room.

"The fuckin' lock's been busted for weeks, mate." The frog quickly explained as he went down the steps, "Damn thing's rotted just like everything else in this bloody building."

"Speaking of 'bloody', are you bleeding?"

"Why is that—"

"I smell fresh blood in here,** your **blood. I could smell it from all the way to the door." He cut Toad off and then spotted a blood splatter on the wall,

"And there's blood on the wall there." He pointed out, "Wanna tell me what happened here?"

"All that happened is that I-I cut me hand and ran around like a tit trying to pick out a wrap." He quickly noticed that there wasn't a cut on Toad's hands.

"Sounds painful." He said skeptically and then noticed a poker with a bloody tip.

"Oy, don't you go Mother Henning now!" Toad retorted as he picked up and closely examined the bloody poker. He knew it was Toad's blood by the scent,

"So you cut yourself with this poker?" He looked suspiciously at the nervous frog.

"Yeah, that's right. I-I was poking at the coals and it slipped a bit—sliced my foot like a seashell. Hurt like—"

"Wait, you just said you cut you hand."

"Yeah, no I-I did cut me hand." Toad flustered, "I cut me hand first and that made me drop the damned thing on me foot. Ruinous flip of events, really. Of course the wounds didn't sit very long, you know, perks of being a Fable, I s'ppose." The amphibian chuckled nervously,

He knew that the frog never had a cut; the blood was fresh and he didn't see any wound on his hands or feet. He then focused on the blood and by the looks of it, someone might've hit the amphibian with the poker very hard and the force caused the blood to splatter,

"God, will you not make a big faff outta this!" Toad said irritatingly as he tried to reenact the scene and it supported with his theory. He ignored him as he set the poker back down and continued his investigation.

He then noticed some marks on the windowsill and pulled up the window for a better look. These marks look like finger scrapings, like someone tried to get out but clung onto the sill while being dragged back into the room.

"There's some marks here on the windowsill…" He said aloud as he turned to the frog again,

"You go out through the window?" He saw that Toad was trying to come up with something,

"…Last night was one helluva night, I don't need to tell you that… and I-I was in a downright tizzy and plumb forgot the keys to this place, so I had to climb in the bloody window. Scared Junior half to death." He chucked nervously.

"Really?" He said with an eyebrow raised, "Then why didn't you use the door? You said yourself that the lock's been busted for weeks so you wouldn't need a key to get in."

"Fuckin' hell, just what are you going on about, mate? After the state I was in, I forgot the fuckin' handle was fuckin' busted. And I tell you what else, it's embarrassing, you brining all this shit up, alright? So quit it with the third degree and all that." The frog angrily retorted.

He sighed frustratingly. He was getting very tired of Toad's lies. He knew without a doubt that something happened here and he was going to find out…

"Bigby c'mon, I'm begging for mercy over here, old boy." The landlord said as he came back to the foyer,

"I was looking forward to a nice day with me son, and then you come in here with this sniffing around at me private belongings! I'm sorry I called, really I am, but I'm telling you nothing happened! So will you please—**please** just bugger off?" The frog asked desperately.

"Not yet."

"Look, no one fought anyone Bigby, there wasn't any scrap. So when are you gonna leave!?"

"When? When you start telling me the truth, Toad."

"But I've told you the truth, mate. Christ, why don't you believe me?"

He kneeled down to the frog's level and sternly looked at him,

"Because the apartment is a goddamn mess, there's stuff broken, and then there's your blood. I know that you didn't bump the lamp off the table, cut yourself on the poker, and forget your keys. You're hiding something—"

"But I—" Toad tried to cut in but he continued,

"—and you're just gonna make it worse for yourself the longer you keep up the act. I know someone was here. So for the last time, tell me what happened."

He saw that Toad had finally cracked was about to tell him, until he heard the door opened and saw T.J. talking to Snow as they walked in.

"So any progress?" She asked him as he stood back up. He didn't answer because he saw a trail of blood coming from Toad's head as he hugged his son. Apparently she saw it as well for he heard her softly gasp,

"Toad… you're bleeding." When she said this the frog touched the back of his head and saw his expression crestfallen.

"Bigby, you didn't…" She looked at him with shocked expression. He was about to explain but Toad beat him to the punch,

"He didn't do a damn thing, Miss White." Toad finally admitted as he took off his hat, "It was that… fuckin' butcher, Tweedle Dee or Dum; can't tell them apart unless you strip them 'em down to their johnnies." He explained as Snow kneeled down and gave him a handkerchief to stop the bleeding,

"He came barging in, screaming about something the Woodsman had, or thought he had… I don't know. He fuckin' tore up the place and beat me up when I said I didn't have it. I tried to go out the window but he pulled me back in. It's been a hard mornin', I can tell you that."

"Do you know where he went?" He asked him.

"He mentioned something about a Prince Lawrence or something, I don't know..." He and Snow looked at each other surprisingly and knew that Lawrence could be in danger and that this Tweedle could've been responsible for Faith's death.

"I really wanted to tell you, I truly did," Toad looked at him earnestly, "but he said if word o' this got back to him, if he ever thought you knew, he'd come back and kill my boy."

_So that's why…_ He mentally understood; Toad only lied to protect his son.

"I even tried to give the bastard her coat, but he wouldn't take it."

"Whose coat?" Snow asked.

"It's from the girl," Toad said as he looked at him, "you know, from last night."

"Dad borrows things from people who live here…" T.J. innocently stated, "Uh… Sometimes…?"

"Borrows?" He raised an eyebrow suspiciously at the amphibian.

"I didn't steal nothin' if that's what you're thinkin'; I only kept it since she didn't come back for it."

"Well, we'll be taking the coat now." She stated.

Toad nodded and told his son to get the coat which was up in chimney. Since T.J. had some trouble getting it, he saw her helping and then pulled out a stitched donkey-skin cloak.

"A fine bit of dress it is, though I wouldn't wear it outside…" The amphibian mumbled. He saw her slightly dusting the soot from the coat and then folding it so she could carry it better. His eye caught something white sticking out and pulled it out. It was an envelope…

"It's a letter for Lawrence." He observed.

"What do we do with it?" She asked him.

"We'll give it to him, it isn't right to go through someone's mail." He said as he placed it in his pocket.

"Well, it's been quite a surprising day for all of us, hasn't it?" Toad said crossly as he sat on the steps, "I'd see you out, but I'm afraid of drippin' any more blood in the place."

He ignored the frog's comment as he left the apartment complex and pulled out his cigarettes for a need to smoke. A couple of seconds later, he saw Snow come out with the coat bundled in her arms,

"Does it always go that smoothly?" She smiled as he lit his cigarette.

"Not often." He smiled back as he took a puff. As he looked at her, he saw her expression become awkward,

"Um… back there… I'm sorry for accusing you. That was unprofessional of me to think of that and I should've trusted you." She apologized. He was disappointed that she would think that but it was honest mistake.

"Hey, don't worry about it." He played it off as he took another drag, and felt his heart beat faster when she smiled back at him. He wanted to show her that he's not the 'Big Bad Wolf' anymore, and he was glad that she was starting to see that.

"So… I guess we head to Prince Lawrence now." She asked as she shifted the coat.

"Yep. We have to tell him." He said as they started walking in the direction of Lawrence's apartment which was only a few blocks from Toad's.

"I'm still not looking forward to telling him." She admitted sadly as he took another puff,

"I know."

* * *

So I've discovered something while playing EP4: Toad still had the coat when he tries to pawn it, how come Snow didn't take the coat when she just said that they were going to take it to Faith's next of kin in EP1? That was a bit of a plot hole to me so I changed it in this chapter; Toad will just have to pawn something else.

Next up is Prince Lawrence's and some action so stay tuned!


	8. VII: Two to Tweedle

I'm so sorry for the long wait but I had to completely alternate this scene. I found it extremely difficult to write in Snow while Bigby was trying to analyze the crime scene so I kind of omitted her out by making her go to the next room and giving Bigby her parts. I have nothing against her, it's just that it's easier to write his thoughts and actions and not explain **everything** to her as he's examining the crime scene.

Do check out my bio for my version of Red Riding Hood, it's on my profile page, and **please** tell me what you think, okay?

Enjoy the chapter! :D

* * *

Bigby instantly smelled a cocktail mixture of blood and gun powder as he and Snow arrived at their destination sometime after 10:00 am. He remembered the scene in the Mirror but the room was so dark that he couldn't see everything; despite his sharp vision, but he could only see what the Mirror sees. The smell was very faint and he had a gut feeling something bad happened…

"…Bigby, are you listening?" Snow's voice snapped him out of his trance and saw her lovely face annoyed. He ignored her and immediately went to the door to open it but it was locked. He tried ramming the door but it was bolted too,

"Bigby you can't just barge—" She tried to reason, but he forcibly kicked the door open and the scent of death filled his nostrils. He was used to this horrid smell but he saw her holding her nose and her disgusted expression turned to horrified; this was another reminder that she wasn't used to being out in the field with him.

He walked into the darken room with only the TV as light and his eyes immediately landed on a man, he assumed to be Lawrence, lying face down in a pool of blood. He kneeled down and gently turned him over. He saw that he had a gunshot wound to his chest that had exited out of his back and another gunshot wound to the right side of his head. Lawrence was deathly pale and just **barely **alive.

He turned to Snow, who was clutching the donkey-skin coat as she looked at Lawrence in horror,

"Snow, go and call Dr. Swineheart." He calmly ordered at her and saw her expression become more focused as she nodded at him; she set the coat down and went into the kitchen. Judging by the scent, it was probably too late for Lawrence to be saved but he had to try; plus, he wanted to be alone to analyze the crime scene and didn't want Snow to get in the way. As much as he **enjoyed** her company and working alongside her, this was how he did things and it always worked for him.

He then looked down at Faith's husband and firmly reassured at him,

"Yer gonna be fine, just stay with me."

"No!" Lawrence coughed as he grabbed his callous hand and pleaded, "…Please let me go…"

"Who did this to you?"

"I… didn't want to… worry her… anymore… Please tell her… I love… her…" Lawrence wheezed and then he felt his grip go limp.

He pondered at the former prince's cryptic and dying message as he closed his eyelids out of respect. He heard Snow's voice in the kitchen as he gently set him down, and then turned his attention to the bloodied chair and pillow.

It looked like Lawrence was shot while sitting in this chair, but when he looked closely at the chest wound, he noticed something strange: the gunshot wound on his chest also had a stabbing wound, like he was shot and then stabbed, or vice versa; also that wound was around a week old whereas the gunshot wound on his head was very recent.

He then saw the knife, a semi-automatic pistol, and its shell casing nearby and sniffed. The smell of gunpowder told him that the gun was fired very recently; the blood on the knife was definitely Lawrence's and was about a week old. He'll come back for the weapons and shell casing later when he's done analyzing the crime scene.

He stood back up and then turned back to the bloodied chair. As he examined the pillow, he noticed a bullet hole and blood around it,

_Probably used as silencer, not an effective one but enough to keep the outside from hearing anything suspicious. _He then examined the bullet hole in the chair, which pierced through it and into the wall. He went over and picked off the slug and then his eye caught a photo of Faith and Lawrence smiling at the camera in Central Park,

_Must've had happy times haven't you? _He mentally said to the photograph. They must've really loved each other but really struggled to survive. He felt extremely guilty for that his job was not only to** protect** Fables but** help** them too, but there was only so much **he** could do.

His eyes then wandered to the end table by the chair and saw an empty prescription bottle labeled 'Barbiturates' and a letter. He picked up the letter which read:

'_Dearest Faith, I never meant to hurt you, and I cannot endure knowing that I have. This was for the best. I'll see you again. Love, Your Devoted Lawrence_'

He pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration; based on the evidence, he was beginning to believe that Lawrence committed suicide and this was getting a bit overwhelming for him.

He refocused as he took a deep breath through his nose; he recognized Faith's scent but its faint. A quick glance of the apartment lacked any evidence that a woman resided here; he theorized that she moved out of the apartment not too long ago, maybe two weeks at least. He also recognized the other scent who ransacked Woody's apartment earlier, Tweedle Dee or Dum, but it was muddled with Lawrence's blood.

What the hell does this Tweedle person have to do with Lawrence? And did he have a hand in this? Something's not adding up…

He then saw Snow leaning against the entranceway to the kitchen with her arms crossed, patiently waiting and staying out of his way, which he greatly appreciated.

"Is he…?" She asked hesitantly; he solemnly nodded and saw her expression crestfallen,

"Did he say anything to you?"

He told her Lawrence's last words and then went silent for he knew that they wouldn't be able to fulfill that request. The grimness of her face told him that she had the same thought.

"What did Swineheart say?" He asked.

"He's still examining Faith's head but he'll come by in an hour. He said to stay by and make sure that no one, Fable or Mundy, gets in." She explained and then handed him a piece of paper, "I found this while I was in the kitchen. It looks like Faith left him."

It read: '_L, please don't look for me. Goodbye, F_'

"Yeah, not too long ago." He agreed and handed the note back to her. "There isn't any evidence that a woman lives here but I can still smell her here. Looks like Lawrence couldn't live without her and committed suicide."

"Suicide?" She looked at him dubiously, "Bigby, isn't that a bit extreme?"

"In the Mirror I saw this knife all bloodied," he pointed to said knife, "and I know it's his blood and it's been sitting like this for a week at least. From the evidence I've seen, he'd taken some these sleeping pills and tried to kill himself. Plus this note says all." He showed her Lawrence's suicide note and watched her expression become saddened as she read the note,

"Poor Lawrence…" She said as she finished reading and looked at the deceased Fable, "…At least they're together now, right?"

"Yeah… There's something strange about this though."

"What's that?" She looked at him curiously.

"There's another scent here: it's the same one who raided Woody's place and probably threatened Toad, but it's so muddled that I can't make out the time period."

"Maybe he had something to do with killing Lawrence. Toad did say that they mentioned Lawrence." She theorized.

"Doesn't make any sense. Everything points to suicide and there wasn't a struggle." He then groaned in frustration,

"Thinking about this is giving me a—" He was cut off by the sound of something dropping. He and Snow directed their attention to the closet where the noise came from. He gave her a shushing gesture before cautiously moving to the closet. Before he could open it, someone barged out, knocked him off slightly, and was out the door.

"Stay here!" He ordered at Snow before sprinting after the Fable. He was so pumped up with adrenaline that he didn't hear her disagreement or sense her following him…

"Hey stop!" He shouted as he chased the intruder down an alleyway. He mentally cursed on how someone that big can run that fast.

"Leave me alone!" The husky Fable yelled as he went through the back door of an apartment complex and slammed it behind him. He broke the door opened and immediately went up the stairs, barely dodging the oncoming projectiles being thrown at him to slow him down.

Once he reached the top floor, he saw him run into some people in the process of moving a couch, and pushed the couch from their hands which crushed on one of the people. After lifting it up and pushed it out of the way, he continued on and saw two doors.

With his suspect's scent in his mind, he went to the left door and found him trying to get out the window, but barely could because of his thick frame. He quickly went over and tried to pull him back in, but was rewarded with a hard kick in the face. He shook it off and followed him out the window; he saw him jumping off to the nearby balcony, and bent the railings when he landed. He jumped off and clutched onto the railings but they were too damaged to support him, so he landed harshly on the balcony below.

He immediately got up and climbed into the open window. He ran through the hallway but stopped when he heard a commotion from upstairs; he looked up at the celling and saw heavy footsteps going down the hallway to his left. As he ran, he saw his suspect falling in the window; he made the rash decision of going out the window, and then landed on top of him in a dumpster. He saw that he was trying to get away and with one last burst of adrenaline, he leapt off the dumpster and pounced on his back.

Once he knew that his suspect wasn't going to run, he bent down and panted. He heard him say something but he was desperately trying to catch his breath,

_Man, I haven't ran like that in a long time. I __**really**__ must be out of shape._

"You… sonuvabitch… make me… run after you…" He panted heavily,

"Why'd… you… run?" He coughed as he paced around his suspect. He saw that he was a stocky Fable that looked to around his height, wore a simple white shirt, grey slacks and shoes, and a black fedora over his short brownish hair (in a way, his manner of dress was **eerily** similar to his). His large right hand, the left side of his face and shoulder was covered in blood.

"You were fucking chasing me. The fuck was I supposed to do?!" He replied angrily in a Cockney accent,

"You were hiding in a closet and then ran away from me, I had every fuckin' right to chase you down." He countered as his breathing was now evened.

"I know how it looks, but I had nothing to do with that." He said as he scooted back from him, but he took another step forward. He glared at him for his instinct told him that this guy had some **role** in this. Since he didn't answer, his suspect continued explaining,

"I was just asking him some questions about the girl, that's all. When I mentioned her being dead, he freaked out. I thought someone had told, how the fuck was I supposed t' know? And… and the fucker shot himself right in front of me. I couldn't stop it…" He saw his expression in total disbelief but his curiosity piqued when he mentioned that one thing,

"Wait a minute… How the hell do you know about her death?" He demanded. Only he, Snow, Crane, Bufkin, and (unfortunately) Puss knew about Faith's murder. There was no way he could know, unless someone told him or he **had** something to do with her death.

"My name's Dee. I'm a private investigator, you see, and I've been hired to track down the girl." Dee got up and had his back against the wall as he moved closer.

"Oh yeah? Who hired you?" He firmly pressed.

"Sorry, that's confidential. I'm sure you understand." The stout Fable's smirk told him that he knew something and he immediately knew that he was going to find out the hard way,

"Can't say that I do. Come on, yer coming with me." He forcibly turned Dee around and began the process of cuffing him.

"This could've been easy." He warned as he gave him a glare.

"Oh, don't worry. It still is. Come on." He ordered but Dee stood his ground and muttered, "Dum…"

"Dumb?" He quirked his eyebrow, "Yeah, it is. Look, it'd be much easier for you—"

"No, I'm Dee…" He nodded to himself and then gestured to behind him, "He's Dum…"

Before he could fully turn around, he was hit with something really hard and instantly knocked out…

* * *

_It was quiet in the Black Forest… There were no birds chirping and no woodland critters happily scampering, nothing but deathly silence. The woods were withered and blackened, ironically fitting its name. This once used to be his domain but was now nothing more than a __**haunting memory**__… _

_He staggered around these familiar woods, slightly wincing at each step he took. He got into a battle with soldiers from the Adversary and they were able to wound his left shoulder. Normally, his wounds would've been healed by now but they used some type of magic in their weaponry, which slowed down his healing factor. _

_As he wandered, he saw a cottage surrounded by three large and withered oak trees and found himself drawn to it. His huge frame could barely get into the doorway and saw that the inside was worse than the outside: the furniture was rotted, doors were unhinged, windows were broken, and the floor was stained, and of course everything was covered in cobwebs, dust, and debris. _

_He sniffed the air and could tell that the soldiers had once resided here, but it's been a while, maybe a year at least. He walked throughout the rooms, each one worse than the last and then made his way upstairs, treading carefully due to the creaking, weak floorboards. He saw that the rooms upstairs were no better than downstairs, and then approached a bedroom that was furthest from the hall. As he stepped inside the threshold, a sudden memory flashed into his head,_

_This was where he devoured Red Riding Hood._

_Sadness suddenly washed over his heart and then replaced by anger at the Adversary and himself: The Adversary for taking someone so innocent and himself for not being able to protect her…_

_After he left the cottage, his ears picked up rustling but he couldn't smell anyone. Every time his massive paw took a step, he heard another step. He knew he was being stalked and would've fought, but he was at a great disadvantage because of his wound and inability to sniff out his opponent. _

_He'd eventually wandered to a rushing waterfall that gave off an eerie mist. His shoulder ached and he knew he needed to rest at least a day or so to heal. He greedily drank the water from the pool, too thirsty to care that it was unrefreshing, and as he drank, he noticed a muddled figure in the water's reflection and confirmed his suspicion. He believed that this stalker was from the Adversary waiting for the opportunity to kill him, but he wasn't going to let that happen._

_He casually walked into the mist and then hid, using the fog to gain the element of surprise. He saw the figure constantly looking around through the dense fog. His opponent had the advantage of hiding his scent, but he couldn't hide from his sharp sight and hearing. He saw that his prey was smaller than the average human, carried a crossbow, and wore a red cloak very similar to Red Riding Hood's._

_He then felt a surge of wrath, for this man had the nerve to wear her cloak as a trophy. _

_He blew a strong gust of wind toward the man who lost his footing and dropped his weapon. He headbutted his opponent in the abdomen before he could reach for his weapon and sent him off a few feet into the water, literally knocking the wind out of him. He stood in front of his stalker, who was crouching and coughing from the attack, and growled menacingly._

_But then he was in shock when he saw a pair of familiar green eyes staring at him…_

"Bigby…_"_

* * *

I kind of changed Bigby's backstory a little – It's same from 1001 Nights of Snowfall but I added Red Riding Hood into the mix.

While playing this scene and re-watching it, I've noticed another **inconstancy**. If you go to Lawrence second, Bigby states that the gun hasn't been fired in a week while Dee said 'the fucker shot himself right in front of me' – where is the gun Lawrence shot himself with? So I rewritten to where the gun Bigby found** was** the one Lawrence committed suicide with.

The next chapter will be a Bigby and Red one so stay tuned!


	9. VIII: Red-Handed

Cry Wolf is coming out on the 8th and we'll finally see Bigby in wolf form! I'm so excited but sad because it's the last episode. I really hope Telltale comes out with a Season 2 like in The Walking Dead – Wolf Among Us needs a Season 2.

Anyway, this chapter broke my 3,000-limit rule but it's such an important chapter because it reveals more about Red and the dynamic of Bigby's relationship with her changes.

Hope y'all have a happy 4th of July and enjoy the BigbyxRedness.

* * *

Bigby groaned painfully as he placed a hand behind his head in order to stop it from pounding like a bongo drum, and also felt that his ribs and wrist hurt like a bitch.

_What the hell was that? _ He thought about the dream, or memory? It felt too familiar to be a dream but he couldn't recall it either. The more he thought about it, the more his head fuckin' hurt. He sucked his teeth because of the pain and immediately noticed something strange,

_Why the hell am I in the Black Forest? _He thought confusingly when he sniffed the air. He no longer smelt New York City, but the scent of his former domain back in the Homelands and wildflowers?

"_Bigby…_" He heard a feminine voice call out to him and then a sweet-smelling aroma caressed his nostrils,

_That voice…_ He thought blissfully as he felt a silky hand touching his stubbled cheek. He remembered that pleasant dream from last night and immediately wondered about that mystery woman…

"Bigby!" He felt a hand patting his cheek and groaned, knowing that he wasn't dreaming after all. He opened his eyes and the first thing he saw was a pair of familiar green eyes…

"Oh good, you're back from the dead."

Now fully awake, he saw Red crouching and smirking at him; he immediately noticed that she wasn't wearing her enchanted coat,

"Red…? What the hell are you doing here?" He said gruffly. He didn't mean to come off that way, but her natural scent drove his inner-wolf wild. Normally, her grandmother would make her wear this god-awful perfume at the bakery since she couldn't wear the coat while baking.

She wore her usual outfit but her jeans had a hole on the right knee and he took note of her red blouse, which was fitted and had a deep V-neck that showed a bit of cleavage.

"I should ask you that." She pouted but wasn't offended by his gruffness, "I was coming home for my lunch break and I see you lying in the alley with Dee and Dum over you."

He then remembered that he was suckered punched by a Fable looked identical to Dee; he knew that twins can sometimes have very similar scents. He mentally cursed himself for letting his guard down.

She explained that after he was knocked out, Dee had handcuffed him to the garage door while Dum kicked his ribs, then they threw the key out of his reach and took off in a car. She had stayed hidden until they were long gone before retrieving the key, and then stayed by his side until he woke up.

"Thanks. Now leave me here." He said gruffly as he covered his eyes. He was angry at himself that this had happened to him but he was angrier at Red for putting herself in potential danger because of him.

"That ain't gonna happen. Come on." She said determinedly and he knew she wasn't going anywhere.

_Why does she have to be so goddamn stubborn? _He mentally cursed, but quickly changed his tune when he peeked through his fingers and saw her standing over him with her hands over her hips, giving him quite an **enticing **view of her hourglass-figure; Red had a body that women envied and men lusted after. He was kind of glad for this pain or else he probably would've acted on his instincts.

He would often claim that she was only a good friend but he couldn't deny his carnal attraction for her that he'd harbored back in the Homelands. As much as he wanted to be in a relationship with her, he knew that they would be heavily scrutinized by others and she didn't deserve that. He thought that she only saw him as a close friend and he's come to terms with that.

As for Snow, he believed that he had a chance of finding happiness with her. He remembered the first time he met her: She was fearful when she approached him but he admired her courage. It took him a awhile to develop a friendship with her because of her cold persona and his reputation, but they eventually became good friends and he hoped that someday it could develop into something more…

A hand came into his view and saw Red offering to help him up. The way she smiled at him made his heart pound and he couldn't stop himself from smiling back. He took her small, smooth hand into his large and callous one, and let her help him up.

* * *

Red offered to let him use her home phone to inform Snow about his situation, and she also agreed to give a statement on the Tweedles. He remembered what she said last night about needing to talk to him about something; he knew she didn't want to burden him but since he was here, he was going to coax it out of her and wasn't going to leave until she talked.

They walked a little ways down the alley where they came to the back of the Scarborough Fair Apartments. The interior was clean and decent-looking and the building was owned by Mr. Badger, an old friend of Toad's and also had a son who was the same age as TJ.

As they went up the stairs, he attempted to make some conversation,

"So how's Ruby?"

"She wasn't happy being there and I can't blame her," she huffed, "it's so unnecessary for her to be quarantined at the hospital just for a little flare-up caused by stress."

"Red, you know that her illness could expose us to the Mundies. That's why that decree's there." He reasoned as they reached the second-floor and walked down the hallway.

"I know, but she's not going to go out in broad daylight while she's literally 'blue in the face'." She said irritatingly. "The cost for her staying there is like renting a suite at the Plaza Hotel, but at least it's better than The Farm…"

They stopped at apartment 230 and she got her keys,

"I can't keep doing this, Bigby." She sighed as she proceeded to unlock the knob and deadbolt, "I can't keep taking her to the hospital and** expected** to pay everything. I'm told that if I can't cover the costs, she'll be sent to The Farm."

Her scent radiated distress and he regretted asking; Red was always close to her grandma and she would be upset at the thought of Ruby moving away. That was because Ruby was like a lifeline to her in the Mundy World; Red had lived all alone for centuries, unaware about Fabletown until about 50 years ago. She'll never admit it, but he knew she was afraid of being alone again…

When she didn't open the door, he put a comforting hand on her shoulder which surprised her,

"I'm sorry Red, I didn't mean to bring it up." He apologized and then felt his heartbeat skip when she removed his hand but didn't let go,

"It's okay. It was nice of you to ask about her wellbeing, I'll be sure to mention your concern to her." She genuinely smiled at him, but her smile couldn't hide her musk of loneliness.

"Please don't." He groaned; he knew that woman would give him quite an earful and a headache. He saw her chuckling at his response and then she let go of his hand to open the door.

He gazed at the living room that had a white couch, red chair, coffee table with a full candy-dish, and television set with a sleeping whitish-grayish cat curled up on top. The walls were coral pink and filled with vintage knick-knacks and framed photos of Red and her grandma smiling while doing various activities such as surfing, skiing, and even sky-diving.

He noted the two old photos that were from the Homelands. One was a young Ruby with her husband and another was a younger Red, her mother Scarlett, and her grandma Ruby: three generations of the Hood women. Red and Ruby never talked about their family, but he remembered Red telling him once that her grandfather died when she was very young and that she never met her father. As for her mother she was **murdered** back in the Homelands…

She led him to the blue-tiled kitchen and directed him to the red phone on the wall,

"Do you want me to brew you some coffee? You look like you haven't had any." She asked him as he dialed,

"Yeah, sure." He really didn't need the caffeine but the smell would help him drown out her alluring scent, since he couldn't smoke here – he knew that he would get an earful from either Hood woman if he did. As he waited, he glanced at the kit cat clock that read 12:30. He then heard Snow answer,

"Hey Snow."

"_**Bigby, are you alright? I mean, I was getting worried when you didn't come back.**_" She sounded a bit flustered.

"I'm alright. The only thing that's hurt is my pride." He smirked, "Turned out that my suspect had a twin and pulled a fast one on me. Has Swineheart arrived yet?"

"_**He just left with Lawrence's body and I was about to look for you. Where are you at?**_"

"I'm at Red's apartment."

"_**You could've just come back here. You didn't need to go to her apartment.**_" He detected a slight coolness in her voice,

"Well I was knocked out and handcuffed to a garage door. If it wasn't for her, I'd still be there and probably would've torn my wrist off." He tried to play it off cool and then he heard her sigh,

"_**Bigby, I know you want to make things right with her but you can't have your personal affairs in this murder investigation.**_" He sighed frustratingly; Snow was only trying to help him from getting distracted but he didn't want to put Red in the back burner. He's noticed that Snow and Red would speak bitterly about the other woman; he doesn't know what happened, but he knew better than to bring it up and face their anger. For now he could only hope that they will resolve their differences soon.

"She knows something about the Tweedles so I'm here getting a statement from her."

"_**Does she?**_" She sounded surprised, "_**Well, I'll come right over then.**_"

"It's better if I handle this myself. She's going through a hard time right now and it'll be less confrontational for her if it's just me." He reasoned.

"_**Alright, fine.**_" She agreed but didn't sound too pleased, "_**Just don't be too long okay.**_"

"I won't. Bye." He hung up the phone and saw Red setting a steamy mug down on the small kitchen table and took a seat. He thanked her as he took a sip of the scorching liquid and sat on the other chair,

"So, what do you know about the Tweedles?"

"Living in this part of Fabletown, I come across some shady characters and I would've liked not to know those two." She explained, "They're private investigators, though they're more like thugs than like Humphrey Bogart from those film noir movies. They came to bakery a few days ago, asking me about Faith." He was stunned to know that Red knew her.

"Faith? You know her?" He questioned and she nodded as she explained,

"Yes, and I knew her husband too. I met them a few years ago in Central Park while taking pictures. I took a picture of them and they've become friends with me and Ganny. They loved each other despite their harsh lifestyle, but they've hit rock bottom. Lawrence had lost his job and Faith was worried about their situation; she came to me about a month ago and told me that she was moving out and was going to take up prostitution because of the lack of jobs. She didn't want to but she had to, so that they **both **wouldn't end up on the curb."

He knew that she was truthful and was glad that she may point him in the direction of Faith's killer,

"Did she say where she currently lives or who her pimp is?" He chose his words very carefully for he didn't want Red to realize that Faith was dead.

"No." She shook her head, "She never me told any of that, but you may want to check with Georgie."

"Georgie?"

"He's the owner of The Pudding & Pie strip club and a lot of girls that work there also work on the outside. If Faith had a pimp, it would most likely be him." He made a note of that and decided he would check on that after The Trip Trap.

"Was there anything else she said to you? Anything that jumps out to you?" He asked but she shook her head,

"She only told me to look after Lawrence. I check up on him every couple of days but he took the separation really bad, he wouldn't get out of bed. About a week ago, I went over to check on him and he didn't answer the door." She then crossed her arms and her expression and scent became irritated,

"That same day, I'd called to see if you could check up on him. Instead Miss White replied that you were out but it'll be taken care of and of course, nothing happens." He knew Snow would never let something like this slip through the cracks; he believed that Crane was the reason why Snow never told him because she was too busy running errands for that prick.

He then realized that the conversation got a bit off-track and went back to the beginning,

"Back to Dee and Dum, did they ever say anything to you why they wanted Faith?"

"All they said was that they have an 'interest' in her. Bigby… did something happened to her?" She looked at him solemnly and he knew that she sensed something wrong. He debated on whether to tell her or not; he wasn't allowed to reveal this information to anyone but he knew she wouldn't go tell everybody,

"Her head was on the steps of the Woodlands late last night. She's dead." He admitted gravely and saw that she was genuinely shocked,

"Oh God…" She placed her hand over her mouth and he knew what she would ask next,

"And Lawrence… How did he take it?"

"Apparently Dee told him before I got a chance to, and he shot himself in the head; he'd been wounded about week and didn't seek medical help. I wasn't able to save him… or her." He stated with guilt but didn't look at Red; his job was to protect Fables but he failed Faith and Lawrence.

He was shocked to feel her hand giving a comforting squeeze on his. She was about to say something but the phone rang and she took her hand away,

"It must be someone at the bakery." She stated as she answered the phone; her musk became agitated and saw her back tensed.

"_Now is not the best time to call me, I have a guest here…_" He heard her whisper and then she turned to him with her hand on the transmitter,

"I'm sorry Bigby, if I could just have a moment please." He nodded and she turned back. Whoever was on the other line made her really nervous and he didn't like it one bit, but it wasn't his place to pry. He got up and walked out of the kitchen so that he could give her some privacy. He sat on the couch and waited for her to finish. His sharp ears couldn't help but pick up the conversation,

"_Tonight? I don't know… Alright fine, I'll meet you there. Bye._"

"Everything alright?" He casually asked when she came back to the living room,

"Yeah, someone needed to talk to me about something. It's nothing to concern yourself with." She said a little nervously as she played with her ponytail; he knew she wasn't lying but wasn't being truthful either, she was quite good at that but that wasn't his main priority right now.

"So… I guess you have to get back huh?" She started.

"I do, but last night you wanted to tell me something in private." He stood up and then gestured the room, "Well, there's nobody but the two of us here so what is it?"

"Oh, are you sure that **Miss White** will not mind?" She said cynically with a thin eyebrow raised, her scent radiated with irritation.

"Don't worry about Snow." He said while placing his strong hands on her shoulders in an attempt to calm her; her anger quickly became surprised and aroused? No, he must be imagining things. Very rarely he would doubt his sense of smell; Red only saw him as a close friend.

"I'm not going anywhere and we'll stand all day like this if we have to." He said determinedly and firmly stared at her eyes; he can play the stubborn game as good as her. After a few tense moments, he felt her shoulders slack,

"You're aware of my mother's murder right?" He nodded and she hesitantly continued, "And… how you were blamed for it?"

He felt himself getting enraged and unaware that his grip tightened. He ate and killed a lot of people in the past, but **never** murdered her mother. Many believed that he'd come back to eat Red Riding Hood and killed her mother, which was untrue, but many still believed that he did it because only an animal, a wolf, could've killed her in such an animalistic manner; despite the Fabletown Compact, he wanted to find the fucker who did it and give him a piece of his mind. He couldn't believe that **she** of all people would think that…

"I know you didn't do it." Her words and reassuring touch on his wrists calmed him and then she looked at him straight in the eye,

"I killed her."

He knew she was truthful but he was stunned, he never expected her to be a killer. He stood there in silence as she began her tale,

"In those Mundy fairy tales, it's always the step-mother who abuse her step-children, never her own. My mother only saw me as an accessory and often abused me emotionally, and it got worse as I got older.

"She tried to kill me one night but I ended up killing her. The years of abuse I've endured emerged and I attacked her to the point where she was beyond recognition. When I realized what I've done, I was so scared that I would be hanged for this, so I grabbed my cloak and hid in the Black Forest, never looking back. That was also the night '**they**' came.

"I had no idea you were to blame for this until **after** I came here. I've wanted to tell you a long time because you deserve to know the truth; I hope you can forgive me. I always cherished our relationship and I didn't want that to change… "

She never looked away from his eyes as she explained. He sensed that she was remorseful but almost elated that this was finally off her chest.

"I never blamed you Red, and I never will." He stated as he placed his hand on her cheek and looked into her eyes. There's a reason why they never brought up their past, it brought up memories that they didn't want to relive. What she did in the past will never change his feelings for her; she was still that same girl with the gentle aura and good heart who never feared him, but he felt that this somehow brought them closer.

She smiled happily and her musk radiated arousal; his heart beat faster when she wrapped her arms around his neck and laid her head on his shoulder. He in turn wrapped his arms around her and relished her intoxicating scent and felt her own heartbeat in the same rhythm as his.

He never expected that Red Riding Hood, the girl that once resided in his stomach, to be attracted to **him**, of all people. He felt his inner-wolf begging to come out and unleash the desire to claim her as his. He tried to keep in control for he knew that with one wrong move, he'll give in to his lust.

"Bigby… aren't you tired of always being called the Big Bad Wolf?" Her question left him speechless; nobody has ever asked him that.

"I know I'm tired of being called the good little girl." She continued, "I'm expected to be someone I once was but I can never be that person because of what I've experienced. Do you ever feel like that?"

Instead of answering, he slightly pulled her away and tilted her head. He saw her pupils dilated and her full pink lips were begging to be kissed. He was unaware that his eyes had reverted into their natural golden color as he leaned towards her, wanting to taste her soft lips.

He should know that all good things come to an end for him…

* * *

I hope you enjoyed that almost-kiss scene; I had some difficulty with it I think I did alright.

In case you didn't know, '**They**' is referred to The Adversary.

Now things are going to get complicated; Bigby's been attracted to Red since back in the Homelands and he's elated that she attracted him, but he can't dump his feelings for Snow just like that for he's been close to her for centuries; in my version, he pursued Snow because he believed Red was dead back then.

What's worse is that both women have animosity toward each other; Red's reasons are that the Business Office doesn't give a damn about her or her grandmother's health (since Snow usually answers the phones, it's easier for Red to blame her), and that Bigby is attracted to Snow so she's naturally jealous. Snow's reasons for why she's unfriendly with Red will be explain in the next chapter.

The next chapter will be the last chapter for Episode 1 so stay tuned!


	10. IX: The Hand You're Dealt

Cry Wolf is out today! Yay! In honor of the final episode, I made this chapter extra-long and I worked very hard on it. I may go back and re-write it a little later. But let me know what y'all think okay.

Hey, does anyone else have the feeling that Faith will rise from the dead, that Woody will die or find out what his real name is, or the red-haired Fable we see everywhere will have a major role in the final episode or is that just me?

* * *

Bigby didn't know how long time had passed with Red in his arms, and frankly he couldn't give a fuck. He placed his rough hands on her waist and back of her head, intertwining his fingers into her long dark auburn hair, and brought her an inch to his lips,

But then the door loudly knocked…

He growled frustratingly when Red slightly pushed away from him,

"I should get that." She said softy, her scent still aroused but frustrated. He knew she was right but he was reluctant to let her go; he gave her a glare that told her 'we'll talk about this later' before releasing her.

He took a couple of deep breathes to calm himself; he ran his hand over his face as he pushed his inner-wolf deep down. He straightened himself and his tie, his eyes turned back to brown, and then he followed Red to the door. When she opened it, he was surprised to see Snow on the other side,

_How could I not sense her?_ He asked himself; Snow's wintery scent was engraved in his brain and always knew where she's at. He must've tuned out all other scents when he was fixing to kiss Red.

"Oh it's you…" Red said coolly to her and he saw Snow with mildly stern expression; she was only about an inch shorter than Snow but she could be intimidating if she had too,

"I was just coming to get the Sheriff; I was getting concerned when he didn't come back. I hope I didn't interrupt anything." She looked at him and Red suspiciously. He silently walked out in the hallway; anger radiated from both women like a bad odor and he didn't want to start something. Red got her purse from the end table by the door and then closed it behind her,

"No, I've made my… **statement** with him." She said as she locked the door and deadbolt; her musk radiated jealousy, "My lunch break's nearly over so I need to get back to the bakery, not all of us have **luxurious** jobs." She then turned to him and smiled,

"Have a good day Bigby, **Miss White**." She said to Snow in that same cold tone and then walked down the hallway. When she went down the stairs and was out of sight, Snow then asked him,

"So… what did Miss Hood say?" Her tone was bit peeved but curious. He'd repeated everything that Red told him, but he left out her killing her mother and the phone call.

"Bigby, don't you think it's a little strange that she's familiar with these people?" She asked when they were outside. He knew she was referring to Dee and Dum, and Georgie.

"No. She's been living in this district for decades now and it's not surprising that she hears things. She's been more helpful than I would usually get from others." He explained but she didn't look convinced.

He took out a cigarette and lit it as he pondered; something was brewing within her about Red but he knew better than to question her right now when she's peeved, so he changed the subject,

"Hey, since The Trip Trap doesn't open until later, do you wanna go out and grab some dinner?" He asked and she smiled for the first time since she got here,

"Sure, I like that."

* * *

He and Snow had returned to the Business Office early that afternoon. She went to categorize Faith's coat, and he went back to his office and began a suspect board of Faith's killer. There were pictures of Woody, Georgie, Dee and Dum, Bluebeard, and Lawrence and Faith's father; the last two were crossed off and marked deceased.

When evening came, he and Snow had dinner at The Eggman Diner which was right across the street from the Woodlands. It was quite normal for him to take her out to eat after work, even though he knew that she preferred to eat in a fancy restaurant but she still appreciated his gesture.

They sat in a booth where they had a good view of Bullfinch Street, and he didn't realize how hungry he was until the waitress brought him his steak dinner with the works. He'd cleaned his plate and was enjoying an after-dinner cigarette.

"I've never seen you that hungry." She smiled; she had finished her salmon dinner not too long ago.

"Dealing with the Woodsman, this investigation, and chasing down Dee can make a guy really work up an appetite." He smirked as he took a drag. "Plus, I haven't eaten anything since last night."

She smiled as his remark and then looked out of the diner's window, the sky was already dark and the street lights were on.

They sat in comfortable silence as he finished his cigarette but he sensed her uneasiness. He decided to take a gamble by asking Snow her issue with Red; he knew that Snow was a bit more cool-headed out of the two women,

"Hey Snow…" He called out to her and she looked at him, "Do you mind if I ask you something personal?"

"Okay… what is it?" She asked skeptically.

"What's going on between you and Red?" He saw her tense up and she gave him a firm glare,

"I know you two weren't the best of friends but you were at least civil towards each other, and lately I've sensed some hostility between the two of you." He explained and saw that she had a conflicted look on her face,

"If you don't want to tell me, I understand." He knew Snow didn't like discussing her feelings because of her past issues. She didn't speak and he was about to drop the issue but then,

"It's Ruby..." She admitted, "I'm well aware of her condition and how costly her hospital stays are, but Red blames me for putting her there. If she really cared about her grandmother, she wouldn't make her do these activities like scuba diving or rock climbing. It's not healthy for a woman of her condition to participate in those kinds of activities." He knew Snow cared about the old gal's wellbeing but when he saw those pictures back at the Hood apartment, Ruby looked truly happy…

"Ruby's a tough old bird and I know that from experience." He smirked, "I think she's just trying to make up for the lost time with Red." He reasoned. Ruby used to work in the Business Office since the beginning of Fabletown and hardly ever left the building; that was because she was depressed about losing her granddaughter and was overjoyed to find out that Red was alive.

"I know but…" She started, "Ruby used to tell me that Red was a good and pure-hearted girl, but she's drinking at bars and going out on dates with Mundies; she's not someone you'd expect Red Riding Hood to be."

He now understood why Red disliked Snow: She expected her to **be **that same innocent girl before he ate her. But she can **never **go back to that. He'd wished that both women would sit down and talk to each other about this. He believed that they somehow misunderstood each other and was now too stubborn to go over and talk it out. He debated on whether to tell Snow to talk with her but she spoke first,

"After seeing all this today, it made me realize that there are Fables struggling worse than I imagined. We pay so much attention to the residents of The Woodlands… you forget there's a whole community out there to serve. For any woman to have to turn to… **prostitution**, just to survive another day," She shivered when she said that word, "I can't imagine having to endure with that every day. I wish there was more we could do."

"You're doing your best. It's all anyone can do." He knew Snow really cared about the community and he always admired that about her.

"Obviously you don't know what I do all day. As Crane puts it, I'm just a gatekeeper, making sure none of these disenfranchised folks are wasting his time." She dismally stated.

"You'll fix it, I know you will." He encouraged and he felt his heart beat a little faster when she gave him a small but appreciative smile; but then her musk becoming saddened as she talked again,

"Our system has become broken: Fables like Bluebeard, who can just walk in through the backdoor, have our full and undivided attention. The Fables that come in through the front door, through the proper channels, that really need help… I turn them away. Now things are worse off than they've ever been." She then sighed dejectedly, "Maybe this isn't for me."

"You should stick with it. There are Fables that give up a lot to be in the position that you're in and I think it's easier to change something from the inside." He stated and then saw her thin eyebrow rise up,

"You're telling me change comes from within? Not the advice I'd imagined hearing from you." She smirked.

"What can I say, I'm full of surprises." He smirked back. He then glanced at the diner's clock which almost eight; he got up from his seat and laid down the money for his dinner and a tip,

"The Trip Trap should be open by now. I'm going to head on over there and see what I can find out on the Woodsman." He said as he proceeded to pay for her dinner but she took her bill away from him,

"I'll pay for my half thanks." She said and then gave him a teasing grin, "You need that to get over there, unless you want to walk the whole way."

He knew she was right, he didn't want to walk the whole way. After she paid, they went outside and he hailed a cab. He was about to get in until she called out his name and grabbed his arm. He turned back to her and saw her worried expression,

"I… um… just be careful, please." She pleaded and he wanted to put her at ease,

"I will and the same goes for you." He smiled as he placed a strong hand on her smooth and manicured one. His heart skipped when she smiled at him and nodded as she let him go. He got into the cab and directed the driver to the Trip Trap and as they drove off, his eyes never left Snow until she was out of his sight.

That's when he came to the realization that he was royally screwed: He's enamored on both Snow White **and **Red Riding Hood. Sure, it'd been like that for a while but** now **things were different. While he's overjoyed that Red shared the same attraction for him,he couldn't just dump his feelings for Snow; he worked very hard for centuries to develop a close relationship with her, and thought that she'd someday share his feelings but now he's not so sure…

He pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration at the conundrum he found himself in. He was glad for this lead for he can finally get this investigation back on track.

* * *

As he entered the bar, the bluesy tune filled the room and the smell of alcohol filled his nostrils. It was a typical bar, had a pool table, dartboard, barstools, booths and all that; he'd also notice that the place was about as hot as outside despite the ceiling fan going.

He saw a couple of Fables but he was really surprised to see Red here, and she was wearing her magical coat. He saw that the other woman had white shoulder-length hair, icy blue eyes with light blue eyeshadow, and she wore a maroonish halter-dress the showed her cleavage and a purple butterfly tattoo on her right breast trailing up and over to her back; and the man was tanned-skinned with slick black hair, and wore a brownish blazer, black pants and boots.

When they saw him, he immediately sensed hostility from the two Fables but Red looked at him with shock,

"What do ya want Sheriff?" The bartender asked him, her husky voice full of annoyance.

"I'm looking for the Woodsman." He stated as walked up to the counter.

"Well he's not here. So, I guess you can go now." Her berry-colored lips scowled as she crossed her arms.

"Oh really?" He raised his eyebrow; he knew she was lying. He spotted a glass and ashtray by Red that had Woody's scent all over, and took note of the snapshot photos of customers; he spotted the Woodsman's photo and also a photo of Red.

"Look, he hasn't been here for a few weeks." The bartender stated but then he caught her looking at the other Fable nervously,

"No… maybe. I don't know. But yeah, he hasn't been here in a while if he's been here at all… which… I… I don't know."

"I'd just like some help and I'll be outta here." All he wanted was to talk to the Woodsman and didn't want a fight to happen with Red here.

"Well, I'd be willing to help you out of here, would that help?" She retorted; he knew that he wasn't going to get anywhere with her so he'd focus his attention on Red who was right next to him,

"What about you Miss Hood? Have you seen him around? He asked her politely and saw that she was nervous, not because of him but because of the audience; he could feel the Fables' piercing stares on him. He remembered the phone call Red got back at her apartment and he had a sneaking suspicion that it was Woody who called her. He watched her fiddle with her empty glass and was about to say something but the bartender cut her off,

"Quit patronizing my customers." She scowled at him.

"I just want to ask her a question." He said simply and then heard the patron laughed,

"You want to eat her too?" He turned and saw him sneering at him. He saw that the Fable had multiple ear piercings, a goatee, and his left eye was hazel-colored while the right was clouded.

"You think that's funny?"

"Yup. I think it's fuckin' hilarious." The patron countered as he took another drink; instead of getting angry like he usually would, he'd played along,

"It's alright." He shrugged. He quickly gave Red a comforting smirk, telling her that everything will be fine, before he sat down next to the drinking Fable.

"There a reason you're sitting here?" He grumbled.

"There are no other seats available so I thought I sit here. Hope that's not a problem." He stated and knew that he was radiating with irritation.

"I told you to quit patronizing my customers." The bartender frowned at him as she came over. He then gave her a look that said he was done playing,

"Look, I don't wanna be here. You don't want me here. The sooner you answer my questions, the sooner I'll be out of your—" He was cut off by the sound of flushing followed by whistling; he knew that they couldn't hide it anymore. The door opened and Woodsman came out,

"Hey Holly, you're out of paper towels in the…" He stopped short when he saw him. Woody still had the bruises from last night's fight and a bloodied bandage on his head from where Faith had struck him with his axe.

He saw Woody glaring at him and then looked Red who was looking down at her empty glass, refusing to look at either man. He felt the tension increased tenfold and he knew why: He and Woody were like two flints, they clash with each other and they start a fire, and adding Red into the mix was like adding kerosene to their fire-fueled fight. It had always been that way and everyone knew it,

"Hey Red, would you mind taking care of that for me?" Holly requested to her and she willingly complied,

"Sure. Here hold this for me." She handed Holly her purse and passed by Woody before entering the back door. He saw Woody watching her movement and then his rival gave him a harden glare before sitting down on the end.

"You're in luck." He said to his neighbor, "A seat just opened up."

He got up but the Fable immediately stopped him from going any further,

"I just want to talk, that's all." He reasoned but the Fable gave him a sneer; he had a feeling that this guy wanted to pick a fight with him.

"Maybe he don't want to talk to you."

"Why don't we let him tell me that?" He countered.

"It's okay Gren." The Woodsman said and he was let go but not before given a light shove.

"It's funny…" He said as he sat in Red's seat, "Just a minute ago no one seemed to know who you were."

"Yeah… well. Everyone knows you, Big Bad Wolf." Woody slurred, "Now I'm the bad guy who can't hold down a job and you're Sheriff who gets the girl. What kind of fuckin' world is that, huh?" He knew Woody was referring to his close relationship with Red and it was no surprise that his rival was infatuated with her; he knew that most of their fights were started because of her.

"I don't know how to answer that but hey, you play the hand you're dealt." He shrugged.

"Well, some folks are forced to play shit…" Woody grumbled.

"That's a lovely image." He mumbled and they sat in tense silence for minute before the Woodsman spoke,

"So, I guess you wanna know about** her**, huh?" He thought Woody must be talking about Faith; finally he can get some answers,

"Amongst other things." He then heard Woody let a deep sigh,

"I'd walked past her place for weeks… She didn't look like it, but she had money and wouldn't put up fight. The night I finally get up the nerve to do it, you come in and fuck things up for me."

"So, you were planning on robbing her?" He asked skeptically. Surely Woody didn't kill Faith over a robbery, but he knew he was being truthful.

"Yeah… her and her grandma." Woody replied and he was instantly confused, since when did Faith have a grandma?

"Grandma? Wait, what are you talking about?" He asked.

"Red and her grandmother. I was there to rob them but there you were, lying in the bed with her in your belly. I only saved Red 'cause I thought get a reward, but all I got was a bunch of people thinkin' I'm somethin' I ain't and I played along as long as I could. I got a free drink every now and a whore who wanted to fuck with the local hero."

He felt his anger rising at his confession and was sorely tempted to take the glass and smash him upside the head, but he kept his temper in check as Woody continued,

"Red was the only one who didn't treat me like that, she still treated me with that same kindness before all **that** happened. I wanted to make things right with her so I called her here and told her. I expected her to hate me but she didn't…" He saw that Woody was hesitant to continue but this was getting bit much for him, so he cut him off,

"Look Woody, I didn't come to ask you about Red. I came to ask about Faith."

"Faith? Who's that?" He looked at him confusingly.

"The girl you were beating on last night." It took a moment for Woody to realize last night's events,

"No. No. No. No. I was here. I swear." He pleaded and looked frightened.

"It doesn't look good when a girl you were just smakin' around shows up dead hours later." He stated and then he realized that Red had come back out and was leaning on the wall, staying out of the way; she knew what happened to Faith but her expression still saddened.

"She's dead?" Woody looked horrified and then pleaded to him, "Bigby listen… I'm a piece of shit, okay… I know I hit that girl and I shouldn't've but… I didn't kill her. Like you said it looks fuckin' bad, but I didn't do it."

"He was here." He heard Gren vouched, "That's the fuckin' truth, Sheriff." And then he heard him slam his glass on the counter and get up,

"Hey, stop! This isn't what I want." He saw the Woodsman stood and confront Gren.

"Shut the fuck up Woody! Shit ain't just about you. It's about this fuckin' lap dog that only comes around to this part of town when the rich fucks in the Woodlands need a shakedown. Ain't that right Bigby?"

"It's not like that. There are problems with the way things go, I get it. But that's got nothing to do with what's happening right now." He stated but that doesn't ease Gren's anger,

"Holly's sister goes missing and no one gives two shits about her. Paper work, waiting rooms, and that **bitch **Snow White looking past me, then ushering me out the fuckin' door." He was instantly up when Gren had the **nerve **to call Snow that,

"Anyone tell you that you've got a big fuckin' mouth." He growled menacingly.

"Oh, it gets bigger…" He smirked and started glowing green.

He stepped back as Gren unglamoured into his real form: the white giant-like creature Grendal with a bloody scar around the right arm socket from when Beowulf tore it out.

_This is just fuckin' great._ He thought sarcastically; he instantly knew that this was going to be one of those nights. Gren cracked his neck and then bend down toward his level,

"Should've walked out of here when you had the chance." Gren's guttural voice threatened but he countered with a wisecrack,

"Come on. You're scaring the ladies here."

"Oh, don't worry about me." He heard Holly say and saw that she unglamoured into a coral-colored troll with burgundy eyes. Gren was about to take a step toward him but then he heard Red cry out,

"Wait!" He saw her grab the Fable's bad arm in attempt to stop him,

"Get the fuck off of me Red." He glowered at her.

"Please Gren." She pleaded, "Think this through." Despite her feistiness, he knew Red hated others fighting and tried to play peacemaker, but unfortunately issues like this never get resolved peacefully.

"Why the fuckin' hell are you defending this guy Red?" Gren growled, "He and the rest of the fuckin' Business Office don't give shit about you and your Granny; hell, they were gonna send her to The Farm since you couldn't pay." He knew that Gren struck a nerve with her because he saw her tremble slightly,

"I know… but what will fighting him accomplish? It won't help you find Lily." She firmly reasoned.

"No, but it will teach this fuckin' lap dog to think he's better than the rest of us who are struggling, and I'm going to enjoy it. Now if you don't want to get hurt, get the fuck out of my way!" He callously pushed her away with his arm and she cried out when she harshly landed on the floor.

His blood boiled when he saw Red being harshly treated and he tried to land a punch, but Gren quickly struck him first and his face hit the counter harshly. He looked up a saw a beer stein and tried to use it as a weapon but Holly slammed it back down.

He was then grabbed by Gren again and thrust into the ceiling; his body collided painfully to the now broken fan. When he was thrust into the ceiling again, he yanked the fan out and hit it against his opponent, and then thrown harshly to the wall.

He ignored the pain and quickly got up; he caught a glance of Red who was trapped in Woody's bear hug so that she wouldn't be caught in the crossfire, and then his attention immediately focused back to Gren who was pushing the pool table toward him. He quickly jumped up onto the table and punched Gren, but it did little effect. He was then smacked toward the exit door.

He got up again but then ducked when Gren threw a chair, and then he backed into the side wall behind a payphone when the Fable threw the table. He quickly looked around for something he could use as a weapon and spotted a coat rack right next to him. When Gren pulled the payphone from out of the wall, he grabbed the coat rack and stabbed the giant Fable right between the brows, blood squirting out; he pushed Gren back a few steps but he stumbled onto the floor when the Fable broke the rack and then pulled rack out of his face.

Before he could get away, he was grabbed by his ankle and flung around like a ragdoll. He felt white-bursts of pain coursing through his body and spat out blood when his back collided into something. The pain was so unbearable that he was starting to drift out of consciousness and then he felt himself being dragged.

He tried to avoid to using his werewolf form which was much more powerful than his human form, but he had no choice. He allowed part of the beast within him to come out: the whites of his eyes turned black and his irises became a predatory gold, his body hair grew thick, and his teeth and claws became sharper. He dug his claws into the floor and was able to stop the white giant from pulling him, but was flung away before he could get up.

He grabbed the counter on the wall to lift himself up and then faced his opponent, ready to unleash the rage and frustration that was built up inside him. Gren came at him fast but he quickly jabbed the back of his neck, causing him to go down. He then gave a bone-breaking kick to the Fable's ribs, and then was grabbed by Gren with the intention to slam him hard on the wall, but he quickly struck the wound from the white giant's arm which caused him to lose his balance and crash his head to the wall as well as letting him go.

As the Fable got up, he jumped and clung onto his back and then clawed his face and neck while being thrashed around. Gren then slammed him into a pool cue rack; he quickly took one of the broken pool cues and stabbed him in the shoulder where his bad arm was. His opponent howled in pain and he then kicked him hard in the knee, effectively dislocating it, and watched him lean on the pool table to support his balance.

"He's had enough!" He heard his rival say. He turned and saw the Woodsman's glare but then his eyes shifted onto Red who had been released from the burly Fable's clutches, he couldn't sniff out her emotions but he didn't see fear in her eyes; instead her eyes were pleading into his, as if saying 'please don't do this'.

He glanced at the white giant who was moaning painfully and clutching his bad arm. He knew that there was no reason to continue the fight, so he walked away and headed toward the bartender troll,

"Whiskey." He growled. Holly fearfully complied at his request as she took out the shot glass and proceeded to pour the alcohol in, but he flung the glass away before she could.

"Double." He demanded and she put out the double-shot glass and poured out the whole bottle. He drowned in the alcohol in one swing and felt his body changing and inner-wolf going back in. When he slammed the glass, he was back to 'normal'.

He opened his brown eyes and still saw fear in the bartender's eyes. Despite all the shit that went down, he felt that the only right thing he could do was pay for the drink but he realized that he didn't have any cash when he reached in his pocket,

"Shit." He cursed; he remembered that he gave all of his money to Faith and whatever cash he had left was spent on dinner and the ride here.

"It's not like you were going to pay for it anyway." Holly stated and from the corner of his eye, he saw Woody trying to make a run for it,

"Don't even think about it." He warned.

"Is this the type of treatment I can expect if I let you take me in?" The Woodsman gestured to Gren who was still writhing in agony.

"Hey, he started it." He stated. This whole thing wouldn't have happened if Gren didn't pick a fight with him. He then saw Red leaning against the wall near Woody and looked very uncomfortable; when she looked at him, he saw her softly smiling at him, glad that this didn't end very badly. She was the only person in this bar that understood his situation and he really appreciated that.

Just then the door swung opened and he saw his in other suspect come in,

"Alright, I've got a hundred bucks for the first bloke that can tell me something about a girl named…" Tweedle Dee started but stopped short when he saw a bloodied Gren and then cursed when he saw him.

_Well that was lucky._ He thought as he walked towards Dee, intending to get some of his questions answered; but as he did that his sharp ears heard Woody shifted his feet on the hard floor. When he glanced at his old rival, he then heard Dee's feet shifting too and before he knew it, both Fables tried to make a run for it.

He knew that he could only apprehend one, so he quickly followed Dee and pinned him to the door; he knew that the 'private investigator' had some answers he wanted to hear, plus he wanted a little payback after he and his brother knocked him out and handcuffed him to the garage door.

"Fuck man! He's the one you want, not me!" Dee exclaimed as he proceeded to handcuff him. He cursed when he saw Woody escape through the back door.

"Your brother won't be saving you this time. C'mon, you're under arrest." He stated and guided Dee out of the bar.

"I told you, I didn't do it."

"Then you got nothing to worry about."

* * *

He escorted Dee the whole way back to the Woodlands. There were times like these when it would be easier to transport his suspects by car but knowing his luck, his car would get totaled within the first week, plus he's never had any luck with machinery.

As they walked past The Eggman Diner, he saw faint red-and-blue lights flashing and when the turned the corner, he saw a lot Mundy cops around the Woodlands and then he got a whiff of blood and death. This was not good…

"Do anything stupid and I'll throw you down the Witching Well myself." He threatened as he recuffed Dee to the street light and made his way to the Woodlands.

He ducked under the yellow barrier tape when the cops went to talk to Beast. He then saw one cop about to throw up. When he got past the gate, he saw some cops gathered around the stoop and then his eyes widen in horror…

There was a woman's decapitated head lying on the steps like Faith's, but it was Snow White…

* * *

Finally finished with Episode 1! Just so y'all know, I'm going to take a little hiatus before I start on Episode 2, I really want to what happens in Episode 5 before I write. I should be able to post the next chapter before August.

I also wanted to give thanks for the people who faved, followed, reviewed, and/or supported me:

A-KT66, abbyisswag, amikethefish, AnonOfTheAnonymous, AquaDestinysEmbrace, Artysian, Autrach998, BloodyBlondeVamp, Bloodroses, chloekenway, Crystal-Rose-Lover, doggy bye, DreamingTraveler, drecklyn, Electric-Rawr, , Funeral of the Fallen Musician, happyfan13, Hercules8, I got mugged by a penguin, InkedOnyx, inquisitor1994, L'ange maudit, LadyOpheliaBlack, LaNellyxD, , Leyshla Gisel, Lookingglasswonderland, meganisnotgraceful, Mermaid Ninja, Nicole0930, off-the-key-of-reason, Perry123, Philosophical Nutcase, PrincessOfTheNight01, RainbowChaos, Ray of Starlight, Rubyeyed10, shawnspencstarr, SmileyRiylee, snufflz32, SweetLambXIII, Tami Mikaelson, The Anime Sage, TheBigBruteOmega, thelonelyhorse24, TheSunRises, ToMyDearestForsaken, XxDemonicAngel, XxLaydee-PreciousxX, Your Guardian Angel In The Sky, YoyoMomo,and Zaara the black


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